


The Winter Shadow

by Iron_Winter



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Winter Soldier (Comics)
Genre: Alcohol, Blood, Darkness, Eventual Smut, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fights, Mentions of Rape, Murder, NSFW, Nudity, Post Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Roughness, Sexual Content, Smut, Strong Language, Violence, abusing, explicit - Freeform, mature - Freeform, total filth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-08-12 10:34:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 41,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7931335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iron_Winter/pseuds/Iron_Winter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events in Washington, the Winter Soldier - Bucky - escaped. He wanted to live differently, somewhere where he could start a new life, maybe a better one. His journey starts in Charleston where he meets new people - people from the underworld and a woman who is different than the rest of them. She is known for her actions and crimes, violence and dangerous beauty. Bucky not only has to struggle with his memory, he also has to deal with Hydra who wants him back. What will happen when these two people, the soldier and the woman, meet and start to work together?</p><p>Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_USUVqln1Kg</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to warn you, this story will contain strong language, violence, sex, blood, murder, torture, mentions of rape and other horrible things. This story will be pretty dark, but you will find some funny scenes as usual.  
> This story is mature, explicit and you've been warned.  
> Also, I'm sorry for my mistakes. I'm doing my best to avoid mistakes.  
> Out every Thursday.

** A WINTER SHADOW **

  **CHAPTER ONE**

     There were many pubs in Charleston – fancy, casual, thematic or just family places where kids could play while the adults drank beer or other non-alcoholic drinks. Nevertheless, there were also pubs for a different group of people – that kind of people who were able to have a gun behind the belt and not being scared to use it. One of these places was hidden under an apartment building at the edge of the city. Its name was The Raven and it was a popular place for criminals, alcoholics and another kind of people. Also, it was the perfect place to hide. The owner of the place had his people who informed him if the police were coming or not. There were times when some raids happened and a few of the criminals were taken to prison right from there. Most of the time, the pub was unattainable for the police.

    A loud hard music was playing and the people inside were drinking beers and booze, playing billiard or darts. This day was so far without broken chairs, tables and the jukebox. Everyone minded their own business. The day hasn’t finished, yet. It would be way too unusual if no one started a fight. Even the most threatening motorcycle gang visited the pub to have a beer and maybe a playtime with some girls, and nothing happened. If any girl appeared in the pub, they were mostly hookers or those who belonged to someone. The pub had two waitresses, but they didn’t work there much. One of them mostly helped at the beginning of the day because she was way too scared to work at night, but she needed the money and the other was there only during weekends.

     Every day, someone new came to the pub for a drink, to hide for a few hours and maybe got a little drunk. This day was no different; a new guy came to the bar – quietly, not trying to bring any attention to him. His blue eyes were scanning the huge room full of weird people, finding a spot where he could sit and have a beer. Some of the eyes found him and checked the new guy from shoes to the longer brown hair. Since the new guy didn’t cause any trouble, they left him alone – for now.

    He sat on a barstool and put his arms on the wooden slab. His eyes noticed some deep scratches, signs, vulgarisms, and cracks on it. Both of his hands were covered by leather gloves, rubbing against each other. “New face in the house,” a strong male voice with a different accent said, probably to him. “What can I get you, boy?” said the man monotonously. The blue eyes were suddenly on the bartender who was cleaning a beer glass.

    For a moment, the new guy gritted his teeth and then the words flew out his mouth, “only a beer.”

    The bartender was an older man with grayer hair perfectly combed backward and longer beard that made him look tougher. His also gray eyes were sparkling when a laugh escaped his lips. “What’s the matter? You look like you just killed someone. Well, you’re not the only one here.” The man gave him a dark bottle of beer. A piece of tattoo appeared from under the sleeve of his red checkered shirt.

    “That’s none of your business,” he grunted and took a sip.

    “Oi, boy, mind the tone,” the bartender warned him. “Don’t talk to me like I’m your little sister, ‘cause I’m not,” and with those words, he went to two men sitting on the right side of the bar. They probably knew each other, because he was talking to them and laughing, pointing with the index finger at the new guy.

    The place was darker than he thought would be. Few lamps were illuminating the whole pub and those were mostly the lamps above the pool tables. There were a lot of posters of metal and rock bands, some sexy ladies in bikinis and a pair of huge deer horns above the bar. The most suitable word for this place would be _a dump._  

    He didn’t even finish half of the beer when he could hear a noise from behind his back. His ears could register everything, even the way somebody was breathing. “Look what got here,” said a voice which wasn’t pleasant at all. It belonged to a man, probably with a huge body type. “Little boy, you are sitting on my chair. Move away.”

    The brown-haired man clenched his fists and the blue eyes were looking at the reflection from a cool box for beverages. He finally saw three big fat men standing behind him all dressed up in leather jackets or vests. They were the typical mascots of these kinds of places.

     “Are you deaf, kid? Move, or we’ll do it,” said the other one, trying to reach for a gun from a pocket of the jeans.

     The biggest of them wanted to make a move but was stopped by a sharp, silvery knife under his chin. His hands went up in the air and he even ended breathing for a moment. The other two were stopped by a sound of a weapon being loaded. Everyone in the bar halted their activities – drinking, playing games or chatting. Their eyes were locked at the bar, looking at the scene. This wasn’t the first time something like that happened. Regular customers, visitors, knew the human being who wasn’t afraid of anyone.

     “What’s the matter Fat Joe? Scared of a little knife?” a very soft voice said near his right ear. The lips were almost touching it. “I know you love bullying, but we all know how you suck at it.”  He could feel the breath on his neck and a drop of sweat appeared on his forehead. “Why don’t you go play somewhere else with your friends?”  His two companions wanted to protect their (probably) leader, but the person behind them was much faster. The first one was suddenly without a gun and the other one lost his knife. Once again, the silvery blade was back under the Fat Joe’s neck. “Now, where were we?” the soft voice belonged to a woman. “Oh, yes, get lost.”

     “Go fuck yourself, little girl. No one’s afraid of you. No one has ever been,” the fat man said angrily.

     “Is that so?” and the blade was now touching his slimy skin. “Then explain me, why are you shaking like you have a mental disorder? Is it my touch or the touch of my blade?” After those words, the knife left his throat and the woman behind the fat body took a step back, putting the knife in its rightful place.

    The people in the pub started to drink again, play games and weren’t paying attention to the woman and the men standing at the bar. The trio turned to the human being. A big smile appeared on the face as she crossed her arms over the breasts. “Why are you doing this, girl?” one of them, the smallest one, asked her. “One day, this game will be over and you’ll lose.”

     “Aw, aren’t ya cute?” she playfully wiggled her perfect eyebrows. “Why don’t you ladies go sit there,” she pointed at a free table in the corner of the room. “That’s where you belong,” she winked at them and without any other words she made a move towards the bar, where some of the customers were still looking at her. “Oh, and by the way, don’t you dare try to do something, or you’ll pay for it,” she added quickly before they left.

    The bartender started to laugh and looked at the woman who sat down on the barstool and put a leather jacket on it. “Nice performance, Izzy,” he said, still laughing and grabbing a clean glass. He poured there her favorite drink – vodka.

    “Well, I couldn’t say just hi,” she rolled her eyes and smirked. “I had to do something. Fat Joe is getting on my nerves,” she breathed and grabbed the drink the man gave her. “It’s good to be back,” she waved with the glass and then drank it, making a noise. “Oh, yeah baby, that’s some good stuff. Give me a beer, will you? I’m back after a week. I need to celebrate a little.”

     “Right away, gorgeous, but first, I need to give these,” he showed her a  tray full of shots, “to those men on the pool table number three,” he carefully pointed at the motorcycle gang, playing pool and laughing.

    “Who are they?” she asked, looking at the group of loud people.  Until then, the woman didn’t even realize they were making noise. She shrugged her shoulders.

    “They are called the Dark Horses,” he whispered, “one of the famous motorcycle gangs in the US. I heard they love fights and they are not afraid to kill a person with bare hands. Or as I would like to call it – Thursday night.”

    “Well, they are not that famous, ‘cause I don’t know them,” she spat a little. “Are they causing any trouble?”

     “No, not now,” he answered. “But I have my eyes on them.” With that, he took the tray and went to the gang, hoping they wouldn’t kill him. He wasn’t afraid – he had his own people there to protect him, including the young woman. The local customers wouldn’t let them hurt his favorite bartender and owner of The Raven.

     The man with blue eyes and dark brown hair slightly turned his head to see the creature that saved his ass. Not that he wanted to, but at least it wasn’t him who started a fight. He wasn’t sure what his actions would do to his place. He gave himself a promise – no more killing, but he had some exceptions. The woman sitting next to him was very young, maybe the same age as was he – almost. She had a very long black hair braided in a French style from the top of her head until the waist. She was wearing everything in black - leather jeans, thigh high boots, massive belt going from the waist to her thigh which could hold a gun, cartridge and a knife, a tank top with a vest on it. A leather jacket was hanging from the chair. When his eyes went to her face, the woman spoke, “you look terrified.”

     His eyes widened and for a moment, he wasn’t sure if she was talking to him until the girl turned her head to him. Now, he could see the very lightly tanned face, full lips with a dark red lipstick, and eyes so dark, it could even be a black color. He immediately felt a pinch in his stomach. His eyes found something red and pink was shining on the right side of her neck. It was a scar running down to the collarbone. His mouth opened but the words didn’t come out. Why was this girl so familiar? Have they met before? “More surprised than terrified,” he finally answered.

     The feminine body fully turned to him. “Haven’t seen you around – are you new?” she asked, taking a deep breath and scanning his face. He had a very short beard, mesmerizing blue eyes, a longer dark brown hair and he was wearing an outfit not very suitable for this place.

     “Kind of,” he replied quietly, moving his head back and sipped his beer.

    “Ah, not very talkative. Bad day?” she kept asking.

    “More like a bad life,” he ironically replied with a laugh.

    She rolled her dark eyes, “well, if you are going to whimper here, you are in the wrong place,” she hissed a little, making a move, just to see if the bartender was alright. Evidently, he was talking to the gang. “So, who are you?”

    “Does it matter?” he was once again looking at her.

    “It does. If you want to sit here,” she pointed at his seat, “you have to tell me who you are. Only the closest people to the bartender,” now her finger was showing herself, “can sit here. Not even the fucking Fat Joe,” her voice purposely raised up, turning her head to those three men, annoyingly glancing at them.

    “Fuck off, will you?” the man responded from afar.

    “Fine,” he grabbed the bottle, “I’ll sit somewhere else.”

    “That was easy,” she sounded shocked. Before the man could leave, she stopped him. “Put your ass back on the fucking chair, prince Charming. Wow, you didn’t even want to fight with me and that’s something unusual. Most men would die to yell at me and try to a fight me.” When she saw how the new guy stayed in his place, she asked him once again: “Who are you?”

     “I- I’m,” he hesitated for a moment. “They call me Bucky,” he answered her question, not believing he even said it.

    The girl squinted her dark eyes and cocked her head. When she was looking at him, her stomach made a twist and she winced a little. “Well, Bucky,” the black-haired woman smiled a little, “welcome to The Raven – a place specially made for people like us. You can find here thieves, alcoholics, gangsters, murderers or people who just don’t belong to the normal society.”

     “Sounds like the right place just for me,” Bucky’s voice wasn’t enthusiastic.

     The bartender was finally back with the tray full of empty glasses. From his face, Izzy knew something was definitely wrong. “Fucking brats,” he rolled his eyes and put everything into the sink. “I swear I will take out my gun and shoot those fuckers.”

    “What’s the matter?” she turned to him.

    “Everything’s just fine,” he waved his hand. “They are annoying, stupid and basically I’m waiting until…” he didn’t even finish his sentence; one of the men broke the cue and started yelling something. “Hey, dickhead, you owe me one fifty dollars for that!” he screamed.

    “Fuck you!” the one replied.

    Izzy looked behind and gritted her teeth. “Hey, you ugly fuck! You better pay that.”

    “Or what, slut, what are you possibly going to do to me? Do you know who I am?” he said with a strong Texan accent. “You are only good for one thing and that’s sucking my cock!”

     The girl rolled her eyes and grinned. “This is fun,” Izzy quietly laughed and ignored the man. “They will come, just give them time. And you, sweetheart, give me that beer.”

     The man with the gray beard handed her a bottle of beer. “So, as I can see, you made a new friend,” the gray eyes moved to the new guy, whose eyes were looking at the two of them. “That is so unusual for you. You never make friends here.”

    “Who said I did?” she took a sip. Her free hand swung the long braided hair over her right shoulder. “His name is Bucky and his eyes look like a sad puppy,” she giggled.

     “Well, puppy,” the bartender came closer to the brunet and handed him a glass of vodka. “I’m Rick, better known as the Raven. I’m the owner of this magical place. The drink’s on the house.”

    “Thanks.” Bucky wasn’t sure if he should take the drink or not. His right arm slowly reached for the tiny shot glass and held it in his fingers. Before he drank it, his eyes went to the woman who prompted him to drink it. And he did. It was nothing else than vodka. “So, I guess this is nothing unusual here,” he said, inconspicuously pointing to the gang.

    “Pretty much,” Rick answered and took Bucky’s empty shot glass. “There were days when we had to hide a corpse, or kick everyone out,” he was laughing. “Those were the good old days.”

     “Did you…?”

    “Did I kill someone?” the man looked him in the eyes. “Well, there were times in my life when it was necessary, but I never killed someone here. Besides, I don’t do the dirty work, right Izzy?” he was once again looking at the dangerously beautiful girl. She seemed to be perfect, except the scar she had on her neck.

     “You have to say everything,” she sighed, crossing her legs and making herself comfortable on the chair. “You accused me of making a new friend and now you are telling him things that not many of us know,” her head moved on the left side to two other men, who were quietly enjoying their beers. “So shut your pretty mouth, Raven,” she winked at him. “What if he’s a cop?”

    “Oh, this little puppy is not a cop, believe me,” Rick laughed.

     “Well, for a sixty-year-old man, you are way too sure,” she was mocking him a little. It was true, the man was older, and he was sixty years old, but he looked like a forty-year-old guy. The style made him younger.

     “Um, yeah, but I fuck like a God,” he put his elbows on the counter and leaned closer to her.

    Izzy wanted to mess his perfectly brushed hair, but she was surprised by an unwanted arm around her shoulders and a smell that almost made her puke. One of the men from the gang came to her with an awful smile on the lips. It wasn’t the leader, but just a puppet who wanted to show off. Bucky wanted to take action, but he rather remained sitting just for a moment longer. Even Rick was shocked by the scene that was happening in front of his eyes. “Well, baby, would you suck my cock? You look like you need one,” the man spoke, lust playing in his eyes. “I think your sassy mouth is perfect for my cock. Would you like to find out?” The man was bald and very unattractive.

      The raven-haired girl turned her head to him and widely smiled. The red lipstick was making her irresistible. She even leaned closer to him. However, she didn’t kiss him. Her left hand quickly grabbed him by the vertex and with a quick and rough move she smashed his forehead against the wooden slab. The man was immediately on the ground, unconscious, and he had a bleeding wound on the forehead. Before anyone could notice, Izzy grabbed the silver knife from a pocket and threw it at the gang – hitting the leader of the group right in the raised hand. She stood up from the chair and turned to the gang. Bucky was shocked by the sudden action, but he was ready to fight if it was necessary.

     “You are getting on my nerves, ladies,” she said harshly, slowly walking over them. They could even hear the sound of her wide heels clattering on the floor.

    “Fucking bitch!” the leader yelled, sweat running down his temples. His hand was strongly bleeding and it hurt like a bitch. “Teach her a lesson, boys. And do the same with those faggots over the bar!”

     After his order, the remaining fifteen people started to run to her, preparing their bats and fists. Bucky was immediately on his feet. Why would anyone let a single female fight with the gang of big angry men? Unless, she was different… Izzy’s hands clenched and when the first one came closely enough, she knocked him down with only one strike. Subsequently, she dodged a bat and with a quick move, she took it from the man and hit another three with it. Her moves were fast and she was strong.

    Four of the men avoided the woman and run to the bar, where Bucky was standing on his feet. He wasn’t expecting this moment even in his dreams. When the first one came to him, the blue-eyed man grabbed him with his left arm around the neck and pulled him up. His feet were kicking in the air and he was trying to catch a breath. Some of them heard a sound similar to a machine. Where did that come from? The brunet’s left hand hardly threw the man on a table and it broke down. Bucky’s brain was once again messed up. There were moments when his mind would go dark and the only thing that ever existed was to fight and defuse enemy. Rick was shocked when his eyes saw what the new guy could do. He was like Izzy – strong and fast.

     The leader took the knife from his hand. There was a lot of blood on the chairs, tables and his black handgun. “I’m going to kill that fucking slut,” he groaned, quickly running to her, but was stopped by her sudden action with her right leg.

    “Wasn’t expecting that, ha?” she laughed and with a hard kick, he flew right on a chair and with a weight of his body, he broke it. Izzy swung the bat in hands and punched another man with it. A few of them remained still, looking at the girl open-mouthed. They were way too afraid to attack. Her dark eyes spotted the new guy, brutally punching one douche right in the face. There was a lot of blood and even some teeth on the floor. “That’s brutal,” she commented quietly. “Hey, you, stop!” Izzy was talking to Bucky who wasn’t listening. “I said,” she run to him and took the beaten guy away from that drastic grasp. “Stop!” The woman pushed Bucky against a wooden beam. “That’s enough!”

     Those last words made him grab the woman by her neck and switch their position. Once again he used his left hand for it. The grip was very strong, maybe stronger than hers. The new guy was choking her. A sound of a loading shotgun was heard from the bar. “Leave her alone!” Rick yelled at Bucky.

     Izzy saw a change in his blue eyes. They were full of hate and lust for killing like there was no humanity left. It changed when he let her go. Now he was confused, slowly backing away from her. His mouth was open. What has he done? He wanted to kill a woman whom he wanted to help. The baby blue eyes blinked and in a second, he hastily left the bar, leaving the raven-haired girl in pure amazement and shock at the same time.

     “What the fuck was that?” Rick was going crazy. If he had the strength, he would break the gun in two pieces. “That piece of fuck almost killed you!”

     Izzy didn’t respond to him. Her hand was fixed the clothing she was wearing. “Okay, ladies,” she quickly clapped her hands. “I hope you learned a lesson. You don’t get to play with me or the bartender or the people sitting near the bar. When you broke something, you pay for it – just like you’ll pay for the broken chairs and tables. Your own stupidity brought you on your knees,” she said loudly, so everyone could hear her. “And as you can see, I’m not a hooker who would like to suck your dirty cocks.” After that, she went to the leader of the motorcycle gang and took her knife from his hand. He was lying on the pile of a wood that used to be a chair, panting.

    “What are you going to do with that fucker who ran away?” The Raven was once again talking to her while she was walking back to the bar, sitting on her barstool. The man’s eyes were angry and he didn’t cancel the eye contact. “Izzy?!”

     “Nothing, sweetheart, nothing,” she replied strictly, looking into his eyes. “I have my reasons.”

    “Oh, and care for disclose your reasons to me?” Rick finally hid the shotgun under the bar and wiped his hands on his shirt.

    She sighed and stood up from the chair. “Backroom, now,” the dark eyes looked at the door next to a shelf full of expensive alcohol. Rick nodded and together they went to the warehouse where they could have more privacy. When they needed to talk, they always ended there. Their conversations couldn’t be heard by anyone else. When Izzy closed the door, the man already had his arms crossed over his pectoral. “I know that guy.”

    “Ah, is he one of your fuck buddies?”

    “No,” she gave him an annoyed look. “He’s from my past.”

    “Okay, but I’m not following…”

    “Just, when he comes back, don’t do anything stupid with boys,” she warned him. “Let him stay, talk to him. This one is mine to play. Now, be a good boy and trust me, because you don’t have any other choice.”

     “I need to know more, Izzy,” Rick insisted.

     “Fine, I’ll explain when I get back from my appointment,” she winked at him.

     Izzy wanted to leave, but Rick grabbed her by the wrist and pulled the feminine body to his. “Wait, that’s it? You only wanted this? Oh, come on princess. What’s the rush?” he pushed her against the door. “Why don’t we have a quickie back here? I know you like my cock. I heard you beg for my cock.”

    The dark eyes were sparkling even in the darker room. Her hands wrapped around his neck and she devilishly smiled at him. “Yeah, and what makes you think that, old man? You are sixty. You’re old. But I must admit,” she breathed his scent through the nose, “you have a sexy muscular body and your tattoos are making you even younger. Ah, I just love when a man takes a good care of himself.”

      “Oh, come on, Izzy. I know you want this,” his hands trailed through her body, grabbing her tight ass. When Rick wanted to kiss her, a smashing sound came from the front. Both of them were annoyed. She stepped aside, letting him go first. Biting her lower lip, Izzy followed him from the warehouse back to the bar, where two men were fighting. It was Fat Joe and his friend.

     “Fucking hell,” the Raven rolled his eyes. He just found out some of the men from the gang were already gone, only money was lying on the pool table.  “What’s wrong with you people? Can I have sex in the back without interruption?” and when he turned behind to find the black-haired girl, she was already gone, standing in front of the bar, putting on a leather jacket. “Hey, where are you going?”

     “Oh, I just remembered I have a work to do,” she smiled, finding a pair of leather driving gloves in the pockets and putting them on. “There is this girl who asked me to help her with some freaks who wouldn’t leave her alone. She promised me good money for this.”

     “When will you come back?” Rick was curious. “I’d like to know if I have to wait for you or not.”

    “I don’t know. Probably around two in the morning. I’d like to play with them and you know how much I love foreplay,” she winked at him. “Don’t wait for me baby. I’m not going to sleep with you anyway. Try someone else? Hey,” she suddenly smiled, “I can call you Mindy – you know, the sexy teen with big boobs,” she pointed at her smaller one. “She’s only eighteen, but her breasts are D-Cup.”

     “But I want you, Izzy. And I love your boobs, even when they are only a B-Cup,” he grinned at her.

     “Call Mindy,” she playfully rolled her eyes. “You do have her number. Now, take care. Bye,” she sent him an air kiss and walked away from the bar.


	2. Chapter two

**CHAPTER TWO**

     Sunday was like any other day in The Raven. Except there was no motorcycle gang and only regular customers were there, enjoying a cold beer. Well, “regular”. The music wasn’t playing at all – there was a fight on Saturday and two alcoholics broke the jukebox. Rick was, as usual, behind the bar cleaning it and occasionally talking to his friends who were sitting on the barstools next to the bar. One of the waitresses came there to help him with cleaning and serving. Fat Joe and his two friends were quietly sitting in the corner of the room. He had a black eye and one of the men had a swollen lip. Someone must have beaten them up. Today, they weren’t causing any problems, which was a surprise for the bartender. Most of the time, they would talk loudly or try to find someone to bully. Today was different.

     Several long days had passed since the big fight happened in the pub with the biker gang. Izzy kicked their asses with a little unwanted help. The new guy, Bucky, hasn’t shown up from the day he almost choked the girl to death. Nobody knew what happened to that guy. Izzy somehow believed he would show up. And she was right. After some days, Bucky came back to The Raven. This time, he was wearing a dark blue jacket with a black cap on the head and black jeans. Some of the customers looked at him when his feet stepped on the old wooden floor. Even Rick had his eyes on him and smirked. He put a toothpick between his teeth and opened a bottle of beer. “What a lovely surprise,” he said with a little laugh. “The kid is back.”

    Bucky came closer to the wooden slab of a bar and sat on a barstool. A beer was suddenly in front of him. “Thanks,” he mumbled under the nose and grabbed the bottle. “I came here to give you this,” the left hand was in his pocket, pulling out ten dollars. “I forgot to pay you for the drinks.”

     Ricked surprisingly kinked a brow. “Well, kid, this is something unusual,” he took the money and put them into the register. “Other guys would rather never come back than pay their debt. Obviously, you are not like other guys.”

     “Is, uh, Izzy here?” Bucky asked hesitantly. The brunet wasn’t sure about her name. He could barely remember it. “I need to talk to her.”

    “And do you think she would like to talk to you after you started to choke her the other day?” his voice was enduring, eyes looking into the blue one, like he wanted to find in them something more about the young masculine man. Izzy told him about the brunet, but he needed to know more. They talked about him a lot, but was it enough? He moved the toothpick from one side to the other and continued talking. “In fact, I have no idea where she is or if she’s coming here today. However, I must ask – what do you want from her?”

    “I think I know her from somewhere, and I- I want to apologize to your girlfriend,” Bucky replied carefully. 

     “You think you know Izzy? Believe me, you don’t. Another thing, she’s not my girlfriend, kid,” Rick laughed. “We fucked, true, but that’s it. You may try to apologize to her, but I don’t think she would like to hear something like that. Of course, you can wait for her here and…” his gray eyes were suddenly looking to the entrance stairs. A sound of clattering heels made him stop talking. “Well, would you look at that,” Rick was smiling. “Talk about the devil and she has arrived. Hi, Izzy!”

    The girl took off her long black overcoat, exposing her outfit. Once again she was wearing black leather skinny pants, but this time, she wore a white tank top with a picture of a skull and a cross. There were some red stains resembling blood. The outfit wouldn’t be complete without a massive belt and high heels. “Did you know the police caught Magnus?” she asked the bartender and some of the people were suddenly listening.

    “Magnus? When?” an older man asked, his eyes were full of shock.

    “This morning when he wanted to buy some cigarettes,” Izzy answered, draping the overcoat over the chair. “I’ve seen the drama with my own eyes, gentlemen, while I was beating one fucker in an alley. I wish I hadn’t seen it. That poor guy was lying on the ground while they put him in the handcuffs. There were so many witnesses.”

     “What are we going to do without him?” another man - he was older and his skin was like a dark chocolate - asked, when Izzy took the chair next to Bucky. She was trying to ignore him as much as possible. “He was one of the best thieves and he could get us so many things like pot for a cheap price. And the worst part is I’m running out of resources!”

     “Do you know what are they going to do to him?” Rick leaned his arms against the counter and looked into her gorgeous dark eyes. “I just hope he won’t say anything about this place. We don’t need too much attention. Everyone knows this is a dark place. And yes, we had some raids here, but Magnus being caught – that’s not a good thing.”

     “Ah-ah!” Izzy snapped her fingers in front Rick’s eyes. “Don’t you dare continue with whining, you know I hate that. Don’t be a little bitch, be a man! Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do now. Magnus is out. He should have been more careful.”

     “Why don’t you kidnap him from prison?” the oldest man asked her.

     “Hey, I’m not that stupid,” the dark eyes annoyingly rolled and went from the men to Bucky, who was listening to them the whole time while holding a bottle of beer in his right hand. She didn’t say anything to him. “Fat Joe?” the raven-haired girl turned to the big man who was quietly sitting in the corner of the room. “Can you do something for me?”

     The man growled and scratched his beard. “Why would I do that?”

     Izzy’s fingers took a one-hundred dollar bill from a pocket of the overcoat. “I’ll give you one-hundred dollars if you and your puppets,” she pointed at his friends, “would go out and check the situation. This job will take you thirty minutes tops,” and she winked at him.

    “What are you doing?” Rick asked quietly, not sure if her actions were normal.

    “We need more than that,” Fat Joe said strictly.

    The girl with braided hair sighed and gritted her teeth. “Fine, I’ll add a bottle of rum on me – that’s all I can offer.”

    There was a long silence before the fat man nodded. “Deal, but only thirty minutes,” and with that, the men stood up and so did Izzy. She went to the men and gave them the hundred dollar bill.

     “And remember, if there’s something unusual, call the hotline – the pub.” When the men left the pub, Izzy gracefully turned on the heels and looked at the men at the bar. “You always need a quick but effective plan. First,” she showed the index finger, “you need to have some idiots around you, who would do anything for booze and money. Second,” the middle finger was up, “they will look around and warn us if the police are coming or not. And finally,” she winced a little, “I saw way too many cops on my way here. I’m predicting a stage of emergency.”

     Before she could sit down on the barstool, Bucky was on his feet. It was now or never. “Hey, Izzy, I’m sorry about,“ he was stopped by a very hard punch right into his face. It was so strong he ended on the floor lying and grunting. She just angrily slapped his face with a clenched fist. Only a sighs of surprise were heard from behind her. Bucky wasn’t expecting that at all. He slowly rolled on his back, snarling and spitting out some blood. His lower lip was ripped and bloody. He took a deep breath and looked at her. This time, the girl kicked him in the stomach, pushing him back on the floor.

     The raven-haired woman bent over a little and looked into his confused and sore face. “That should teach you a lesson, boy,” she hissed. “Don’t you ever try to choke me again, understand? Or this would be the last thing you’ll do in your life.”

     “Ha, ha, I told you she wouldn’t like to talk to you about it,” Rick laughed and clapped his hands. “Stop lying on the floor and get up, boy. Or, would you like to become my new broom for cleaning?”

     Bucky groggily stood up and stroked his chin. It hurt like hell and there was still blood coming out of his mouth. When the blue eyes met the dark one, he saw an amusement in them. Izzy suddenly gave him a napkin. “Now that you’ve learned my manners, sit down and finish your beer.”

     “Fine, I deserved it,” he mumbled. The brunet once again opened his mouth, but before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by a sudden noise coming from the entrance stairs. One of Fat Joe’s puppets came rushing in, barely breathing. He was gone for about five minutes. “Cops, they are coming!”

     “Fucking hell!” Rick purposely broke a shot glass and loudly groaned. “I’m going to personally kill Magnus even when he’s in that fucking prison! Fucker, causing only troubles!”

    “You know the plan, people,” Izzy looked at the customers. “You have two minutes to leave this place and hide. Cosby and Washington,” she quickly nicknamed the two men who were talking to her earlier. “You go into the safe room in the warehouse. I’ll be right behind you,” she took the overcoat from the chair and quickly put it on. The two men disappeared in the back door and Izzy quickly took some small documents from a pocket. “Sweetheart, you are the official owner of my motorcycle for now,” she handed it to Rick.

    There was chaos in the pub. Some of the people already left, some of them remained sitting. Bucky’s eyes widened. He was the most wanted man. They can’t find him and there was no time left. “Can you hide me, too?” Bucky was fully aware of the situation and his breathing was heavy. No one can know where he is. “I really need it.”

     Rick and Izzy quickly look at each other and then the woman undesirably nodded. “Come with me and take everything with you. Hurry!” she clapped her hands, quickly opening the back door to the warehouse where the two men were already hidden. The brunet took the bloody napkin and ran to Izzy. They quickly closed the door. “Come on,” she said with a normal voice and went through a corridor into another room. This one was bigger, full of boxes with supplies, an old sofa and there were also two freezers.

     “Where are those two guys?” Bucky asked, looking around. “I thought…”

    “They are in a secret room. It’s too small for four people,” she was walking to a dark corner and he followed her. “This is the best place for us,” Izzy smiled and without warning, she pushed Bucky against the cold wall in a dark corner of the room. She looked him in the eyes, scanning his facial features. “So tell me, why are you hiding?”

     “I have my reasons. Why are you hiding?” he kinked a brow and smirked. She glared at him. “Come on, you were the one who just slapped my face and kick me in the stomach.”

    “But you were the one who almost choked me. Why?” Izzy asked, looking into his blue eyes. “What changed? Why did you suddenly turn against me?” She had to bit her lower lip to stay calm. Looking into his eyes only reminded her the old days. Some of the memories hurt, but even in the darkness she found the light.

     He chose to answer her first question. “I did some terrible things in my life. That’s why I’m hiding – in general. Now it’s your turn,” and he smirked. His lips almost made a smile and she saw it. Izzy took a deep breath and winced a little. Bucky was looking at her and waiting for an answer.

    “I did some terrible things in my life too,” she winked at him. “That’s why I’m hiding here, with you. They don’t have to know where I am.” She wanted to play with him and so she did. “Why did you end in the Raven?” she pursed her lips and put hands on her sides. “Why Charleston? You don’t look like someone from this city.”

     “Neither do you,” he breathed. “I must admit, you are very strong. What’s your secret?”

     “And what’s your secret, soldier?” There was a triumphant smile on her face. “I’ve seen you in the television soldier and I found some information about you,” her hand was suddenly on his chest, strongly pushing him to the wall. Bucky’s amused smirk was gone and he dryly gulped. “The Winter Soldier, standing right in front of me,” she devilishly giggled. “No wonder you are so strong.” She could read his face – the fear in the pretty blue eyes, the shock mixed with indecisiveness. She had him where she wanted. “You might think that a girl like me would be scared of you. As you can see, I am not.”

     Bucky was speechless for a moment, but when he wanted to reply, they both heard voices coming to the warehouse. His mouth was opening to say something, but the girl pressed her index finger to his lips. “Shhh.” Her body was very close to his. He could feel the not so fragile figure on his body. Now, he had the perfect opportunity to check the scar on the right side of her neck. When her head turned, his eyes found the beginning of it – the scar went from the top of her ear, right behind it and down to the right collar-bone. The door swiftly opened and three cops stepped in, holding guns in hands. One of them went to the freezers, the second one checked other doors and the third was coming right to them. Every step he made, Bucky’s heartbeat slowed down. He held his breath for a moment. The man with the gun was now standing in front of them, eyes locked at the dark corner. He didn’t say anything. With another step, the policeman was moving away. How was this possible? He was looking right at them! The soldier didn’t understand.

     “The warehouse is clear,” said one of the cops. “We should get back and leave. There is no one here. Today’s mission was a failure. Magnus was lying to us. Fucking bastard.”

     After few seconds, they were gone. Izzy stepped away from Bucky and scanned the surroundings. “He was looking at us,” the man frowned. “How is it possible? He didn’t see us!”

     The girl gave him a puzzled look. “I have no idea what are you talking about, soldier,” and her face turned into a grimace. “So, let’s continue, shall we, Bucky?” she quickly changed the topic. Her eyes were provoking him. “What is the greatest Winter Soldier doing here in Charleston?” She wanted to tease him, to know new information about him.

     He growled and gritted his teeth. She was lying and that frustrated him a little. “I don’t have to tell you anything,” he snapped, suddenly standing in front of her, faces only centimeters away. “I can kill you with my bare hands right here, right now if you keep lying to me. I want to know why the cop couldn’t see us.”

     “Ah, you are moody, aren’t ya? Come on soldier,” she smiled and came closer to him. “Get it out of your system. This is what you need. I know what you need,” she leaned even closer to him, their lips almost touching. “Do you want to kill me? Kill me. At least you can try, but then who’s going help you survive?” With a wink of an eye, she was stepping back, leaving the man alone in the corner.

     The brunet wouldn’t let her leave without any explanation. He reached for her wrist, harshly grabbed her by it and threw the woman against the nearest cold wall. A painful groan escaped her throat. She wasn’t expecting that at all. Both of her wrists were pinned above her head and Bucky was scanning her pale face. “Stop messing with me, woman!” he was being obnoxious. “Tell me this, girl, why do I have a fucking feeling I know you from somewhere?”

     Izzy was laughing with an annoying voice. “Maybe I remind you of a girl you used to fuck back in the day or maybe I look like your mother.” After those words, his body was pressed against hers. “Well, would you look at that? Mhm, that body of yours pressed against mine – it feels so good,” and she licked her lower lip. Before he could say anything, the black-haired girl with a quick move of her hands sneaked out from his grip and she roughly pushed him away. In a second, she was holding a gun in her hand, aiming right at him. She had it hidden in a leather case on the right thigh. “Don’t play with me, soldier,” she warned him. “You have no idea what I am capable of.”

     “You think your gun can stop me?” he raised his eyebrows, eyes never leaving her face. “Because you know who I am, I have to kill you now. What if you tell it to someone?”

     Izzy started to laugh a little and put down the gun. “Do you think I would tell it to someone? Oh please, wake up, boy,” she hid the gun back into the case. “I’m not five and I’m not that kind of a bitch. We are both criminals.”

     His body relaxed a little and he took a deep breath. “Okay, then tell me who the fuck you are? You are familiar, you are surprisingly strong and a minute ago, the cops didn’t saw us even when one of them was looking directly at us! What are you? Who are you?”

     “Do you want to know who I am?!” she threw her hands in the air. “Fine, I’ll tell ya. I’m the only person who can help you at the moment.” Bucky was confused. How could she, I girl that probably didn’t even know him, help him? “You may not know this rule but here in the Raven we help each other.” She dryly gulped and bit her lower lip. “And especially criminals like us help each other.”

     “And why would you want to help me?” he asked, curiosity was behind his question.

     Once again, she devilishly smiled. “Well, you are the Winter Soldier, aren’t ya? There’s nothing better than having you here. Besides, you are pretty much same as I am.”

     “I don’t think…”

    “Look, take it or leave it. It’s up to you.” A phone started to ring in a pocket of her coat. The raven-haired woman sighed and took out the device. She ended the call. “If you accept, you’ll have a roof over your head, money, and mostly peace. I believe that is what you want, what your heart desires the most. Yes, you will live in the underworld, but it’s better than running away from everyone. Think about it. If you accept this offer, just tell Rick.” Those were her last words for him. The girl dialed the number, put the phone to her ear and left the warehouse with a smile on the lips, leaving Bucky alone.

     When she got back to the bar, a person picked up the call and they started a conversation. Izzy quickly looked at Rick, winking at him, taking the documents to the motorcycle and leaving the pub with a grin on her face. She needed money and that meant she had to go to her work – beating someone’s soul until the person couldn’t stand any longer.

     Bucky came back from the warehouse. His mind was deep in thoughts; the blue eyes were scanning the floors and looking at any dirt that was there. He went to his seat, finally lifting his eyes up. The two men who were also hidden were already back, drinking a beer. Bucky was so focused on the girl, he even forgot those men were probably passing by.

     “What’s the matter, boy?” Rick asked him after some minutes. “You look like you saw a ghost back there.”

     “I talked to Izzy,” he said monotonously.

     “That is surprising,” Rick laughed and started to clean dirty glasses. “And what did she tell you?”

     The man leaned against the low backrest and sighed. “She gave me an offer and now I have to decide whether to take it or not. And it is strange because she acts like the meanest bitch on the planet and she would kill me at the first opportunity.”

     Rick smirked. “Ah, that’s our Izzy. Well, it’s up to you. I can’t decide for you, boy.”

     The offer was good, but he knew it had some catches. Why would someone offer him a place for lay low, when they don’t even know him? He’s dangerous; he was trained to kill. They had no idea who he really was. The Winter Soldier was just a name. The person behind that name was a mass-murderer. What if he takes the deal just for a few days? That was an option too. “I think I’ve made my decision,” Bucky said after some time. “She said; if I accept the offer I have to tell you. And I do accept it.”

    The older man stopped cleaning the glasses and nodded. “Wise choice, boy,” he said. His gray eyes were scanning the surroundings, checking how many people were there. “Here’s what you are going to do,” he took a key from under the register. “You have to stay here until the next day. There is a very old sofa in the warehouse. You might have noticed it. You can sleep there this night. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be back with Izzy and she’ll tell you what to do next.” Rick handed him the key. “This is for the bathroom.”

     “Thank you,” the brunet smiled a little, taking the key from the bartender.

     “While you are here, you can help me with some boxes. Go back to the warehouse and grab three boxes with tagged Russian. There’s alcohol hidden in them.”

     …

     It was three in the morning and Rick was waiting near the beach, sitting on his motorcycle. He left Bucky alone in the locked bar, where he could rest for a while. He knew who his was – the famous Winter Soldier. He saw him in the news not long ago, when there was the attack in Washington D.C. Also, Izzy told him about this guy.

     Rick took a cigarette from a new package and lit it up. He was waiting for Izzy for ten minutes and she still hasn’t shown up. He had to do something. He was tired and needed some sleep after fourteen hours working in the pub. While smoking the cigarette, he saw a police car going down the road. They were passing by very slowly, checking Rick from behind the windows. When they were away, a sound of a strong vehicle was coming right to him. Izzy arrived on a black cruiser motorcycle. She stole it two years ago when she was in California. She stopped right next to him, giving the man a shiny smile. The girl didn’t wear a helmet. She hated them and found the unnecessary.

     “You are late, young lady,” Rick smirked and put the cigarette to his mouth, smoking it. “What took you so long – job, manicure, a new guy for sex?” he teased her a little. She didn’t even have to ask for a cigarette; the Raven immediately offered her one and also gave her a lighter. “What was it this time? A man cheating on his wife or was it rich girl having problems with her step dad?”

     “No,” she said when the cigarette was lit up and she returned the lighter. “This time it was way traumatic for my customer and I even did it for less money. Okay, I’m lying I did it for free.”

    “Now it sounds interesting. Tell me what happened.”

     Izzy sighed and bit her lower lip. “A girl asked for my help two days ago, when I randomly bumped into her after finished my previous job. She was shaking and crying. When I asked her if she’s fine, she was suddenly sitting on the ground, crying hard and panicking.”

     “Eh, hysterical girl,” Rick rolled his eyes.

    “Dude, this is serious,” she raised her voice. “I was with her for two hours and she told me her step-father raped her several times. She didn't want to go to the police because she was afraid,” Izzy dryly gulped. “That girl was only seventeen! Can you believe it?” she sighed. “I - as a very good and protective person - offered her my help. I explained the rules, told her important things and the girl agreed. I beat the shit out of him today. I hate these motherfuckers. Next time, if a girl comes to me and asks for my help because she was raped, I’m going to kill that asshole,” she was growling. “That girl has my work number and if something goes wrong, she’ll call me. The only problem is she lives in Summerville.”

     “What did you do to him?” Rick was curious.

     Izzy was suddenly smiling like a Lucifer. “Well, at first, there was my typical very intimidating speech. He was laughing at me first but stopped when his face suddenly met the ground. Then he realized it’s not a fucking joke. He ended with a torn lip and eyebrow, twisted ankle and many many bruises.” When she finished her speech, she extinguished the cigarette with her boot. “I made him cry. That was worth everything. I promised him, if he ever does that again, I’ll chop his dick off.”

     Rick took another cigarette, lit it up and started to smoke. This time, he didn’t give one to her. “Let’s just hope he won’t alarm the police.”

     “Oh please, honey. I always know what I’m doing.”

     “Do you realize you just did a good thing? You helped a random girl,” he gave her a proud smile. “But still, this world is fucking crazy,” Rick relaxed on his motorcycle and rolled his gray eyes. “I’m against three things – raping, racism, and mostly religion. There is no fucking God,” he made a grimace.

     “Wow,” she giggled. “After all these years, I can’t believe you are against any kind of religion.” Izzy shook her head. “I don’t care about the religion. People can believe in Gods and other weird things. Just don’t force me to be a part of this nonsense. I believe in something, unfortunately, it’s not a God.”

      “Anyway, let’s talk about the puppy locked in my pub,” he changed the subject quickly. “I gave him food, water and he should survive until morning,” he said with a chuckle.  “What are you going to do with him? No, wait, better question,” he extinguished the second cigarette when he was done. “When will you tell him?”

     “I won’t tell him,” she was dead serious. “He has to find out on his own, because when he does, then it’s going to be interesting.”

     “Why?”

    “I can’t predict his reaction, Rick. This is something very complicated,” she rubbed her nape and her fingers gently caressed the long braided hair. “It’s been years. He said, he probably knows me, but he wasn’t sure. And when he finds out who I am, I think it might end with a huge fight. Also, there is a huge possibility he would leave, maybe without explanation.”

    “Hey!” he stopped her. “Are you saying he might kill you?”

     “There is a chance,” she nodded.

     “No! If he kills you, I’ll be the one who kills him as revenge,” he smirked. “Come on, it can’t be that bad, can it?”

     “Aw, you are the greatest grandpa I’ve ever had,” Izzy started to laugh. “You are worried about me!”

     “Okay, if you think of me as your grandfather, then we are talking about incest, young lady” he kinked a brow, making a funny grimace. “And P.S.: this is offensive, my dear,” he frowned at her on purpose. “Just admit I’m the best, even when I’m sixty.” Both of them were laughing for a few seconds. Rick stopped first and looked at the young girl. “What are you going to do tomorrow?” he went back to the previous topic.

    Izzy started the motorcycle and smiled. “I don’t know,” she said loudly, so he could hear her. “I’ll go get him and take him to my place. He needs a place where he can stay and I really need a roommate. Oh, yeah, by the way, give me your keys,” she stretched an arm towards him and waited for the keys. “I need to be with him alone and show him no mercy, so don’t come.”

     The older man gave her what she wanted. “Just be a good girl, okay?”

    “I always am, baby,” she winked at him. “Ugh, I’m starting to feel like a nice person. I should stop doing charity and help other people. I just hope he is worthy of my help. If not, he’s dead,” she said with a sweet voice. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Are there many mistakes? What will happen next? Let me know. :)


	3. Chapter three

**CHAPTER THREE**

     Sleeping was impossible. The couch was comfortable than anything else before, but those dreams were unbearable. From the moment his mind was getting very slowly back together, sleeping was a painful and unpleasant activity. He saw his past in dreams. Unluckily, this one was from the time when they captured him and kept him locked down. There were many horrible moments. They tortured him, made him fight with a bunch of young inexperienced girls. And then there was that moment when they put him in that chair of the horror and suddenly everything was gone. Something was missing in his mind. Bucky growled from his dream and clenched his fists. A loud painful moan escaped his lips.

_Wake up, soldier._

     He tried to catch his breath. There was something new in the dream. Soft hands touching his wounded fists, icy blue eyes staring into his and a smile so gentle, it reminded him he’s still a human being. That person was talking to him, saying him soothing words. If only he knew who that was. The dream didn’t show him enough. He needed more. Who was that person?

_James._

     Bucky opened his eyes when he heard a gentle voice saying his real name. It belonged to a girl. He inhaled the air through his nose and slowly sat up. His flesh arm combed his hair. He felt his heart beating fast as his body was shaking a little. Fucking nightmares. Ever since he escaped, whenever he wanted to take a nap or a good sleep, the nightmares were following him, like it was a punishment for his escape. He betrayed the people who made him do awful things.

     The man put his feet on the floor and hid his face into the big palms. He needed a moment to wake up and recover from the dream. “You are awake,” he heard a voice coming from the room. When his head lifted up, his baby blue eyes saw Izzy complacently sitting on two boxes and checking her phone. Her hair wasn’t braided as usual. This time, she only had a high ponytail. On top of it, there were black sunglasses. Bucky was confused a little. How did she get there? The girl looked at him, cocking her head a little. “Bad dreams?”

     He sighed. “More like a bad life,” he breathed. “What time is it?” he asked, stretching his arms in front of him, yawning. “Where’s Rick?”

     “Seven,” she replied simply and stood up; hiding the mobile inside of the leather jacket she was wearing. This time, she was wearing high black boots, dark blue skinny jeans and she had some kind of black shirt. Only the bottom of it was sticking out of the jacket. “He didn’t come. And stop with the bad life thing. It could have been worse, believe me.”

     “What are you going to do to me today?” he asked, looking into her dark eyes. “Will you broke my arm or try to punch me in the face like you did yesterday?”

     “All you have to do is ask and I can make it a reality,” she winked at him. “Relax, soldier. I’m not in a bitchy mood at the moment. Take your stuff and come with me,” she pointed at his jacket which served as a pillow. “Hurry up, boy. I also have other plans for today,” she clapped her hands. “Rise and shine!”

     He didn’t say a word, only rolled his eyes at took the jacket. Bucky didn’t have any other things with him. He stole the jacket from a shop that day when he ran away from the bar, after that accident. Together, they went main room, where the keys to the bar were laying on a table. She took them and quickly ran up the stairs. Bucky did the same. When they were out, she locked the bar with all those keys, put them into a pocket and took out another pair of keys. Together they approached her motorcycle. Bucky was impressed. It was one of the newest models and it looked beastly. He smirked.

     “Here’s the thing, Bucky,” she said his name softly. “We are going to my place – the only place safe for me and you,” she hopped on the bike and started it. She put on the sunglasses. Her head turned to him. “Come on, boy, we don’t have all day.” The man didn’t hesitate and jumped on the bike behind her. At first, he wasn’t sure if he could put his arms around her waist until he heard a soft chuckle. “Just wrap your arms around me. I won’t bite.”

     “That is debatable,” he replied with a grin on his face and put his arms where they already should have been. When she was sure the man was holding tightly, they finally moved forward. The ride was smooth and adventurous. Without even realizing, his head was suddenly resting on her shoulder as he was watching the road. Izzy’s body firmed a little. That guy was feeling way too comfortable and she had to smile a little. After seven minutes of driving, their journey in front of an old small apartment house. It had four floors and there were no garages. She stopped the motorcycle near the sidewalk and turned off the motor.

     Bucky let her go and left the bike. He quickly fixed his long brown hair and looked around. It was a calm street a poor one but in the end, it was better than nothing. “What’s the matter, Bucky? You didn’t enjoy the ride?” she asked, mocking him a little. “Did it make you nauseous?”

     “Not at all,” he shook his head and took a deep breath. “You are a great driver.”

     “I know,” she winked at him. “You were way too comfortable back there,” she giggled. “Now let’s go,” she patted his left shoulder, signalizing him to follow her. Together, they went into the building, heading to the stairs. “I live on the top floor. It’s not big and it’s not small either.” While they were approaching her flat, she explained everything. “The neighbors are fine. Everyone mind their own business and you should too.” When they were finally there, both of them were loudly breathing. “This building has a huge advantage – the walls pretty thick, so when you are climaxing, you can be pretty loud.”

     Bucky’s eyes saw the damaged walls and dirt in the hallways. It wasn’t pleasant, but everything was better than sleeping somewhere on the street or in a bar. He even ignored the last sentence she had said. When she opened the door to her apartment, he was surprised. The flat was clean and she even had furniture. The first thing he saw was the kitchen and living room put together in one room. The kitchen unit wasn’t new, but the doors were re-painted. There was a massive rounded table where were guns and knives, waiting to be folded and sharpened. There were two other doors. His eyes also founded a pretty big comfortable sofa and a television surrounded by a cabinet and a small bookshelf.

     “This is where I live,” she closed the door behind them. “As you can see, this is the kitchen slash living room. The furniture is not new, well most of it. The door to the right, near the wall,” she pointed at them, “is leading to the bathroom. The other one, closer to the kitchen are for the bedroom – my bedroom.”

     “Why are you doing this?” he asked her without thinking. “You don’t know me and…”

    “Shut up, will you?” she sounded annoyed. “You agreed to this and I’ve already told you the reason. Now, listen,” she continued with her previous talk. “You are sleeping on the couch and this one is much more comfortable than the one back in the pub,” she breathed and turned to him. “Boy, you are one lucky bastard today.”

     Bucky bit his lower lip. “How can I repay you?” he looked into the dark eyes. Now he could see them better. They weren’t black, only dark brown. When she was looking at him, he felt a soft pinch somewhere deep inside of him.

      She didn’t respond. Izzy quickly ran to her bedroom and came back with a blue towel and a clean black shirt. “Now, you can replay be taking a shower, because you really need one. Then you can put this shirt one – it belonged to one guy I banged with like two years ago,” she playfully rolled her eyes and tossed him the things. “I believe there’s shower gel for men in the bathroom. Probably Rick’s, I’m not sure.”

     “Why are you so nice to me?”

     She stopped for a moment and took a second before she answered. “Because, a few years ago, I was in the same position as you are now,” she cleared her throat. “No more questions. Be glad you are here. One more word and I can kick you out. I don’t give a fuck,” she crumbled her shoulders.

     Bucky took a deep breath. “Thanks, Izzy,” his lips crooked into a smile. Without any other word, he went to the bathroom and locked the doors.

     The raven-haired girl sighed, biting her lower lip. She made a soft moan of irritation and finally moved to the kitchen table where she had all the guns and knives. She took a hundred dollar bill and put it on top of the weapons. She quickly grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from a tea table and wrote a short note for the man. Izzy needed to leave the apartment as soon as possible. She had a work to do. The girl put a spare key into the lock and quickly left her flat, leaving Bucky alone.

     There was no time for conversation or showing him everything like he was a baby. She needed to work and her customers won’t wait forever. Being a badass bitch was a good thing and with her skills and attitude she always earned a lot of money. Today, her new targets were in Georgetown and Conway and she should be gone until midnight.

     Bucky took a very long, hot bath. He could be there as long as he wanted, as he needed. No one was forcing him to quit or to hurry up. There was nothing better than a hot water running down his skin, making him forget about the present and the past. His every muscle was loosening up. He could choose if he wanted a shower or take a bath. It was all in one. Another positive in the bathroom was the bathtub. It was very long. Even two people could fit there. Bucky could stretch his long, tired legs. This was like heaven for him. He knew he must do something nice for the girl. This wasn’t just a small help, no. This meant a lot to him.

     After half an hour, when he was all clean and relaxed, he finished the bath and dried his firm body with the towel she gave him. Then he wrapped the wet but still soft material around his waist and came closer to the steamy mirror. His hand got rid of the steam and he looked at his reflection. The tired eyes were still there; however, his face looked brighter and happier. Someone helped a monster like him to start a new life. Maybe it won’t be that amazing; at least it’s a better life than it was before.

    He put on the clean shirt and the underwear. He needed new clothes as soon as possible. When he got out of the bathroom and his mouth opened to say something, his baby blue eyes found the apartment empty. Izzy was not there. She must had left while he was taking a bath. This gave Bucky the opportunity to check the rooms and discover something new about the woman. There were no photos of her and other people. There was a probability she never had a family. There were no flowers or decoration. The walls were dark yellow and the floors were wooden. The brunet came to the table where all the unfolded guns were. His eyes found a note and a hundred dollar bill.

_Buy some clothes and perhaps food (just go down the street). Don’t thank me. I._

    Bucky’s lips crooked into a light smile. That girl had a style and he was thankful for it. He didn’t wait any longer. The man took the money, quickly put on some clothes and went shopping. He even found the spare key she had left him in the lock.

     …

     A man landed with a crash on a glass table. It shattered under his weight, making him moan and grunt from strong pain. His mouth was open, eyes were closed and blood appeared on his hands and the floor. Some slashes were heavily bleeding and his back hurt like hell. This visitor was a big surprise from him and the worst part was he didn’t even know her. “Fuck! Shit!” he mumbled, trying to catch his breath. He felt the warm liquid flowing down his arms onto the floor where it mixed with the rest of the blood. “Who the fuck are you? What do you want from me?” his eyes found a woman, comfortably sitting on his white couch and she was playing with a knife in her hand. “I don’t know you! I don’t own you any money! I didn’t do anything.”

     Izzy took a deep breath and her dark eyes scanned his shaking body. His gurgling was annoying. She took out a mobile from her pocket and set a timer in one minute. She stood up from the couch and came closer to him. “Honey, you have one minute,” she showed him the time on the device, “to answer your own question. I believe you know the answer. If you don’t answer until the end of the time, my knife will meet your throat,” and she pressed the start button.

     A tear of sweat ran down his forehead. His eyes were looking at the female version of a devil. The black-haired girl had a wide smile on her lips and she was obviously enjoying every second it. “I- I,” he was babbling. “Please, no,” he begged. “I’ll do anything!”

    “Thirty seconds!” she reminded him the time. “Come on, big boy. I know you want to live. All you have to do is say it.”

     Before the time was up, he gritted his teeth and said, “It’s Don, isn’t it? That fucking bastard! We had a deal! This is not my fault! He said I have time until the end of this month! Why would…?” and then he stopped, realizing, it was another issue. “Fuck, fuck! I slept with his daughter,” and after those last words, the time was up and the phone started to ring.

     Izzy took a step back and hid the knife back to its case. “Bravo, big boy. You are going to live,” she smirked at him. “And it wasn’t that difficult, was it?” She let him stand up while her legs started to roam around the apartment, checking all the fancy paintings and expensive statues. When the man was finally up, Izzy quickly jumped to him and roughly grabbed him by his balls, squeezing them hard. He screamed. “What’s the matter? Does it hurt?”

     “Fuck, you bitch,” his voice was high-pitched and tears appeared in his eyes.

     “What? I didn’t get that,” her evil eyes blinked and Izzy started to laugh. “Oh, come on, it can’t be that bad!”

     “Stop, please, stop I’ll give you anything you want!” he caught his breath and the girl finally let his balls be. He pushed his legs together and slowly sat on into an armchair. He was panting, making faces from the pain. “He made his point,” the man whispered. “You made yours. Take what you want and leave me, please.”

     “Promise?” Izzy stretched her arms. “We can play a little longer if you want.”

     “No, I don’t want to play with you. Fuck,” he sighed, “my balls!”

     The black-haired girl licked her lips. This man was giving up way too easily and it wasn’t fun at all. “As you wish,” she nodded and in a second, her fist met his face. It was a very hard punch. It brought the man to a state of unconsciousness. She knew where to punch him and how to do it. There was no time for killing. Only a blood was running down from his nose. “Ah, now, this is done. It’s time to collect my personal reward.”

     The man, Don – a famous gangster in South Carolina, gave her five hundred dollars for this action. He didn’t want to send any of his men. He knew the girl and the references from his friends were respectable and valuable. Because her new victim said she can take anything, Izzy started to collect some useful things. She found his wallet with three hundred dollars, an expensive Rolex watch of color black and a new phone, not even used before.

     The girl went to his bedroom, which was like the size of the man’s living room. She found a black sports bag where she put all those stolen things. Because she had a guy in her apartment, who didn’t have many clothes, Izzy took some clean underwear, socks and expensive trousers with shirts. Stealing was like a hobby for her. When she ended in an apartment where a rich guy was, she always had to steal something – money, alcohol, even his dignity. Usually, it was money. Today, she needed much more things. There was one more thing she had to do before she could leave. The girl took a picture of that man, who was deeply sleeping thanks to her fist. It was a proof for Don that her job was done just like he wanted.

     After a couple of minutes, she was down in the garage sector with a huge smile on her pink lips. She put the bag on her back and came to her motorcycle. Before she could hop on it, her phone rang. She took out the device and accepted the call. “Hey sexy,” she said, greeting Rick. “How is it going?”

     - _Nothing much_ ,- he said quietly _. -I have some bad news, sweetheart and you are not going to like them.-_

    Izzy heard cars passing by. He was standing outside, most probably alone. “What’s going on?” her voice changed from sweet to serious.

_-Almost an hour ago, two men came to my bar. They were looking for your new puppy. Both of them were wearing tuxes and one of them had a weird accent, like a Russian one. They had shown me a photo and asked me if I knew him. I think they’ll be back soon. What are we going to do?-_

     Izzy’s stomach turned over and her body firmed a little. She sat on the bike, her hand still holding the phone. “What did you tell them?”

_-I told them only my man saw this guy in Columbia a week ago and that he was heading to Atlanta I also told I’ve never seen him in my bar .-_

    “Good,” she took a deep breath. “They can’t find him, Rick. If they do, we are fucked up. Well, mostly I am.  Fucking shit. I’m leaving Conway in a few minutes. I’ll see you at ten tonight. If anything changes, let me know.” After that, the line went dead and she looked at her device. There was no time for thinking. Firstly, she sent the picture to Don. Subsequently, she started up the motorcycle and went back to Charleston. Driving for two hours wasn’t something unusual. She loved her motorcycle so much and driving was her second favorite thing. The first one was sex.

     Two and a half hour later – she needed to stop at a gas station because she was way too hungry – Izzy was back in Charleston, leaving her bike in front of The Raven. Still having the bag on her back, she went down the stairs, entering the pub with a bright smile on her face.

     “Look who it is,” Rick smirked a little when he stopped his conversation with one of his friends. “Miss World, welcome back!”

     “I know,” Izzy came to the bar and sat on a free barstool between two guys. “I would win the competition,” she joked. “You don’t have to be blond and skinny. You just need to be me. Give me a glass of whiskey, will ya?” she sent him an air kiss.

    “Whisky? What happened to you, Iz? No beer, no vodka today?” he grabbed the first bottle of quality whiskey and poured it into a bigger glass. “You are smiling like never before. That’s very creepy,” the Raven was mocking her. He set the glass in front of her and the woman quickly drank it. “Wow, you’ve been really thirsty. Tell me what happened today.”

     “Oh, you know, I had a really long hard day, I needed a drink and now, I’ll be leaving home. I have a lot of work to do these days. I’m going to Savannah tomorrow morning because I have a lunch meeting with a client. When I’m done there, I’m moving to Jacksonville where I have a very important mission. I’ll be back in two days,” she explained him. “Oh, and one more thing,” she took off the bag and started to dig in it. Her fingers found what she was looking for. “Tada,” the woman sang, showing him the black Rolex watch. “These are for you.”

     “Wow,” he was surprised and took the unexpected gift from the girl. “Look at me,” he laughed, “I’ll be like a businessman with them.” Rick showed his new gift to his friends, sitting next to Izzy. She took the chance and quickly, without noticing, sneaked away from the bar. The Raven deserved those watch for everything he did for her – helping her in need, giving her money and just being her only friend. She could trust him. He was the one who helped her when she was down on her knees.

     The short ride home was calm, peaceful and the police were nowhere around. Izzy parked the bike near the sidewalk and went home. It was strange when she heard a sound of a TV coming from behind the entrance door. She opened it, went inside and saw the brunet, sitting on the couch, his eyes focusing on the screen. Like it was something he has never seen before. He was wearing different clothes. Obviously, he found the local cheap clothing store and bought something to wear. “Hey,” Izzy greeted him neutrally, taking off her shoes, bag, and the leather jacket.

     Bucky’s head quickly turned to her. “Hi,” he whispered. His mouth stayed open, not knowing what to say. His eyes were checking her every move. Izzy opened the bag and took out what she had there.

     “Here you go,” the girl tossed him various types of clothing. “I had a great day,” she winked at him. “You are welcome by the way and save the thanking speech for now,” and with that, Izzy hid in her room, closing the door behind her.

     Bucky checked the clothing. There were some shirts and the size was pretty much his. He found there shorts, socks – everything useful. It was a miracle, a gift that couldn’t be repaid. When he stood up from the sofa, the door to Izzy’s room opened and she came out only wearing a very old long shirt, exposing her legs. “Hey, thanks for the clothing. Listen, I’ve been thinking…”

    “Second thoughts?” her eyebrows lifted up and she crossed arms over her breasts. Her very long black hair was brushed in a messy bun and she looked differently. Also, she wasn’t wearing any make-up. The girl still looked beautiful. “Look, the door is there,” her head made a move towards the entrance. “You are free to go.”

     “Look, I’m the most wanted man on the planet – I think. You are definitely not safe with me. If they find me, they will find you and put you in jail for helping me. I’m not going to lie, I wanted to leave today. But when I thought about it for the second time,” he dryly gulped, “I’m glad that you gave me a roof over my head.  And, I would feel better if I know how to repay you. You may be dead inside,” he had a playful grin on his face and surprisingly, her lips crooked into a tiny smile, “but I’d like to do something for you. If I’m going to stay…”

     “For now,” she stopped him, “don’t get into any trouble. When I’ll need your help, when I find a job for you, I’ll let you know. Then you can pay me back.” The woman passed by him and her eyes found the guns on the table clean and folded. She turned to him and looked into his eyes. “Nice job. Where did you learn that?”

     “Well, I’m the Winter Soldier. And also, it was a long time ago,” he whispered, turned on a heel and went back to the couch, sitting down and focusing his mind on the TV. There was a show running and it was getting interesting.

     Izzy put her thumb to her lips, sticking the nail between the teeth. She was looking at him from the table. If only he knew. She could tell him right now, but that would be the biggest mistake. It’s up to him, up to his brain. They were looking for him. It would be dangerous for both of them, if he knew all the facts or if he would leave Charleston. Without any further ado, she went to the fridge where she took out some food and once again, Izzy went back to her room. There was a brand new mobile waiting for her and she needed to change the card and set the device for her needs. The old phone would belong to the soldier. 

     When the food was eaten, she went back to the kitchen where she put the trash into the bin. “Listen,” the raven-haired girl started a short conversation. “I won’t be here next night,” she went to a cabinet near the round table. When she opened it, there were bullets, various medicine, and bottles of pure alcohol. Once again, her dark brown eyes looked at him. Bucky was blown away by the TV and she smiled. “Try to not make a mess here,” her voice changed from soft to serious. Her hands were working with the reservoir, filling it with bullets. “Don’t forget it is still my place.”

     The blue-eyed man turned to her and saw what she was doing. “Why do you need guns?” he asked.

     “They are a part of my job,” she said, not looking at him, eyes once again locked on the reservoir.

     “You kill people?”

     A chuckle escaped her throat. “Mostly not, but yeah, I do. I always did.”

     There was the deepest silence they’ve ever experienced. While Bucky was looking at her, eyes scanning her figure, she just focused on her work. The truth was, Izzy was a very attractive woman for him. As a man, he could tell that to himself. Seeing her in clothes like those she was wearing, made his pants tighten. “I think I know what’s going through your mind,” he broke the silence. “It’s wrong in every way and yet you still do it. Every time you pull the trigger or do it with your bare hands, you regret it.”

     “No, every time I pull the trigger I enjoy it.” Izzy banged everything that she was holding against the table. She wasn’t used to this – sharing a flat with someone, talking about regrets and feelings. This was all new to her. Yes, she had to help him, but that doesn’t mean she will change for some guy. “Look, if I want to talk about my feelings and shit, I’d go to the Oprah show.” When she finally looked at him, the man was confused. “Eh, never mind.”

     Their conversation has ended. From that moment, the two of them weren’t speaking. Izzy let everything be and just went to the bathroom where she took a long shower. When she was done, all clean and dressed up, she went back to the guns. Bucky was standing in the kitchen, drinking water. His back was facing hers. Before she went to bed, the girl gave him a spare pillow and a warm blanket for the night. She went to bed after midnight. The new day was slowly coming and she needed some rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is out on the 22 September.


	4. Chapter four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

     Sleeping was his biggest enemy. Sleeping and dreaming. The nights were fine until his body was ready to lay down, asking for a deep sleep. This night was like any other before. The dream was haunting him, making his body twitch now and then. Tears of sweat were running down his body and his breath was shaky. The dream showed him the worst days of his life - the torture, pain, and brainwashing. He could feel everything. The dream made him feel every second of it. Everything was dark. He was falling deeper and deeper into the dream until he saw something different.

_It’s okay, I’m here…_

     There they were, the icy blue eyes looking into his one. The gentle touch on his face was back and the dream was suddenly calmer. He caught his breath and hands found the soft one on his face. A young girl was sitting opposite him. Her eyes were like from another realm. They were magical, beautiful. Her face had many scratches and wounds. The lower lip was ripped a little. When he closed his eyes for a moment, the scenario changed and she was standing opposite him, crying.

     _Please don’t do this…_

     His body acted instinctively. He raised a hand at her, hitting her as hard as he could. They told him to do it and his brain accepted the order. The girl did everything to protect herself. She was weak. Her tiny body couldn’t protect herself from a bigger, much more muscular man. They stopped him when the girl was lying on the floor barely breathing. A blood was running out of her mouth. Why did he do it?

     Before he could exhale the used air, he saw himself standing above a bed where the girl was lying. For the first time, he realized the girl’s hair was blond and long. She was sleeping; the body was trying to recover from all the bruises and wounds. She probably had some bones broken.

    _It’s not your fault…_

     He heard her say. “I wouldn’t do it,” he replied softly, his tongue licking his lower lip. “They made me.” His own words were like an echo for him. They were whispering somewhere far away, making him remember what he just told the innocent girl. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember her name. The only thing he knew, they had a history together.

     Before Bucky could wake from the dream, he saw one last thing – the darkness coming to him, surrounding his body. In the middle of it, there was a person standing, dark eyes looking at him. It was a second and the shadows with a weird smoke got him. The brunet immediately woke up with a scream. His baby blue eyes quickly opened and his body was in a sitting position. His lower lip was shaking; the whole body was still tensed. His loud groan didn’t wake anyone. Bucky was alone in the apartment.

    “Fuck,” he hid his face into the big palms of his. “Fucking hell,” Bucky whispered. When he wiped off the sweat from forehead, he stood up on his feet and went to the bathroom where he poured water all over his face. He looked into the mirror. His face was pale, wet and those blue eyes were terrified. “It was just a dream,” he mumbled, trying to calm down. “Nothing more than a dream.” Maybe it was a dream, but that dream reminded him his past.

    That day was very simple. Bucky figured out how to properly work with television, what is that weird machine that produced a black liquid known as coffee. Many things were new to the man. He lived in captivity for many years and no one has ever explained him the technology of the twenty-first century. He jumped into something new and unknown. When he ran away from the incident in Washington, he had to discover what the world was offering. Even when it was hard, he somehow managed to adapt. The new world was a different place. Luckily, or not, he found someone – Izzy – who offered him a roof under his head. There was one thing strange about that woman, well maybe two – he had a feeling he knew her from somewhere. When his eyes landed on her, something deep inside pinched him in the chest. Secondly, he couldn’t figure out why the policeman didn’t saw them in the corner. He believed she had something to do with it.

     Bucky spent the rest of his day watching TV and doing some exercises just to stay in shape. He missed working out in the gym, doing something for his body. At least he did some squats, push-ups, and sit-ups. He did it for over an hour and after it, he took a long shower. That was the best activity so far.

     That night, enjoying a movie from the twenty-first century, his eyes were suddenly empty. A memory came rushing back to his mind. Bucky could see everything, even remember the conversation. It wasn’t long, but it was something. It was back at the time when Hydra had him under lock, treating him like he was only a thing – a thing that was supposed to be trained for killing. One day, he had to train ten young girls in a gym. Of course, they were under supervision. A man with a gun was standing in the corner of the gym, while Bucky taught them how to properly punch into a boxing moss.

     The training had to be hard for the girls. Some of them were crying. One girl even broke her fingers. Her scream and cry were heard on the other side of the institute and that didn’t help her. When the men took her away, they beat her until blood was flowing down her mouth.

    At the end of the day, the girls’ practice ended. It was time for dinner. All of them left, except one girl who was still standing at the same place, trying to practice the punches. Her blonde hair was in a high ponytail, eyes never leaving the boxing moss. Bucky’s eyes squinted a little and then he approached her. His blue eyes saw blood on the girl’s knuckles. “ _That’s enough_ ,” he said in Russian because that was the only language they were allowed to speak. When she didn’t obey the order, he grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her on the ground. Once again, he had to do it. The real man in charge was still there, looking at them.

_“The training is over, maiden,”_ the man said, coming to them with a gun in a hand. “ _Leave or you’ll be without food for a week_ ,” his voice was loud and dominant. The Russian language was indeed scary for the girl.

     “ _Leave,_ ” Bucky looked at him. “ _I can take care of this one. Come take her in twenty minutes_.”

     “ _You are not permitted to give me orders, soldier_ ,” the man hissed. “ _When I come back, I want to see that you taught her a lesson._ ” With that, the man reluctantly left the gym, leaving the soldier and the weak girl alone.

    The girl looked at the brunet who was standing above her. He was very masculine and terrifying at the same time. Her body was shaking and tears formed in her icy blue eyes. “Please don’t hurt me,” she begged in English. She didn’t know the Russian language. “Please, I beg you.”

     “Try to obey commands, girl,” Bucky said in English, stretching the metallic arm towards the girl for help. For a moment, she hesitated, but then she grabbed it and stood up. “This place is no joke,” he continued, eyes scanning the girl. “When they say stop, you stop. When they say beat that girl in the second row, you do that.” His voice was deep and intimidating. His brown wet hair was falling on his face.

     “I thought,” she whispered, still afraid to talk to the man. “I thought I was the only one who could speak English,” she bit her lower lip and glanced down. “I don’t understand them when they are talking to me. I don’t know their language. Most of the time, they beat me up when I don’t understand. And I-,” she was suddenly panicking. “I don’t want to be here. I want to go home, please.”

    Bucky’s human hand quickly covered her mouth. “Shh,” he soothed her. “You are lucky we are alone,” the man sighed and slowly put the hand down. “If anyone hears you sobbing, they would break your bones or even worse – kill you.”

     “What am I going to do?” she asked mostly herself.

     The brunet leaned to the blonde girl, his manly arms resting on her shoulders. The girl was shorter than him. His nose was at the same high as her forehead. “You can’t go home, girl. But I can help you with the language and with the training, but you must deal with the fact that you are here. Neither was it my choice.”

     “Why would you want to help me?” she whispered back, her eyes looking at the crook of his neck. “You are one of them. You are a soldier who obeys their commands.”

     “As you can see,” he dryly gulped, “I’m not and I never will.” He took a step back and closed his eyes for a moment. “Just follow my lead.”

     The time was running very fast. A few seconds before the door opened, Bucky roughly had slapped her face, leaving her with a ripped lip. His eyes found drops of blood on the floor. She was whining and panting heavily. There was no time for explanation. The man came back, eyes locked on the girl. An evil grin appeared on his face and he even clapped his hands. “ _Very good, soldier_ ,” he said. “ _Now the girl will know where her place is._ ”

     That memory wasn’t important at all. It was just a flashback from his past – something that was sleeping in his mind and now it just came back to him. Nevertheless, there was one connection between this memory and his dreams – the girl with blond hair and icy blue eyes. Who was she and what was her name? Did she survived and became a part of Hydra? No matter what he did, he couldn’t remember. He was losing it between his fingers like sand.

     Was this girl even important?

     Bucky didn’t know the answer even the next day after his nightmares almost ate him alive. It was a good thing Izzy still wasn’t back home. She had a work to do and as he could see, she needed guns for it. Living with this badass woman had its cons – she minded her own business and wasn’t asking too many questions. It was like a living with a guy. Unfortunately, his soul wanted a conversation with her. He knew her for ten minutes and now he was living in her apartment.

     Once again, he ended with people who were doing crazy and illegal things. They all were from the underworld, killing and hurting people. The truth was no one was forcing them. The Winter Soldier is known for murdering and torturing people. He already was the bad guy, even when he wanted a normal, peaceful life. Maybe it was faith. He had two options – leave and move from place to place without a place to live or stay and be a part of the people he just met, deal with the fact that he’ll be doing all those things he wasn’t proud of.

     As the day went by, he was getting bored. The television wasn’t as good as he thought. He needed fresh air and a cold beer. He put on clean clothes such as dark blue jeans, black shirt, and a dark brown hoodie. The black leather gloves were a part of every outfit he wore. The last touch was a black cap on his head. Bucky took the last few dollars he had and the key. After he locked the apartment, the journey to The Raven could start.

     Surprisingly, Bucky found it pretty quickly. He got lost one time but found his way to the important street anyway. He didn’t have the courage to ask a person on any street if they knew where the pub – The Raven – was located. The brunet trusted his instincts and found it. The sun was slowly going down and the bar was filling with interesting individuals. The weather was cold and it looked like it was going to rain.

     When he came down to the bar, it was surprisingly full. Only a few seats were free, including the one at the bar. Rick was talking to some men, laughing and pounding on the table with a fist. Also, Fat Joe was sitting in the corner with his two puppets, drinking their beers and minding their own business. The music was loud, but it perfectly fitted to this place. Bucky went to the bar; his hands were hidden in the pockets of the hoodie. The only eye contact he made was with Rick.

    “Welcome back, boy!” he greeted him with a huge smile on his face. “Guys, you owe me twenty dollars. I knew Izzy wouldn’t kill this puppy.”

     “Fuck this!” the one with black skin growled, handing the money to the bartender. “I was so sure she would kill him. I thought she would do it in his sleep with a knife. Well, I guess this is a warning for me to not bet on anything, especially with you, Raven.”

     The brunet sat closer to the man, putting both of his gloved hands on the wooden slab. “Well, at least someone is having a great time,” he smiled a little. “That’s why I came here – to enjoy some moments with you and not only watch television.”

    The Raven was surprised. “Look at you,” he laughed a little. “Are you trying to make new friends?” his eyebrows went up. “I don’t think you are at the right place, puppy.”

     That was the moment when Bucky let everything go and just enjoyed the moment. He was surrounded by many killers and maniacs. He was like them. The past couldn’t be erased with a blink of an eye. “What if I prove you wrong?” he smirked. “What if I can show you that I’m at the right place?” he kept his voice low and on purpose a bit intimidating.

     “How about we make a bet?” Rick suggested, gray eyes looking also at his friends. The other two guys annoyingly rolled their eyes, making a growling sound. “Twenty bucks that this puppy,” he pointed at Bucky, “won’t be friends with us until I close the bar?” he kinked a brow, waiting for the response from the others. “Come one, who’s in?” he looked around, waiting for some response. His friends accepted the bet.

     “Okay, so it’s all three of you against me?” the brunet was looking at them in disbelief. “Fine, as you wish,” he laughed a little and relaxed in the chair.

     The older man with gray hair and a mustache handed him a bottle of beer. “How’s Izzy? Is she back home? I haven’t heard from her from her since yesterday morning,” he smiled a little, taking few shot glasses and pouring vodka into them. He needed to fulfill another order for a group of very young guys, playing pool. They totally didn’t belong to a place like The Raven was.

     “I have no idea. She wasn’t home when I went here,” Bucky replied, sipping the beer. “We actually haven’t talked to each other much since I, let’s call it – moved in.”

    “She’s not back?” Rick’s voice sounded shocked and scared. “That’s impossible.” A second later, the man was holding a phone, trying to call her. There was no response. “Fuck, this isn’t good.”

     “What’s happening?”

     Just when Rick wanted to make a call to someone, a loud bang was heard at the entrance stairs. A random man fell right down on the floor from the stairs. All of the people stopped doing their activities and looked at the creature that fell down. Bucky was standing on his feet, ready for anything. Nobody tried to help that guy. They just kept looking at him while he was lying on the floor. That unknown man was wearing black clothes which were wet. Was it already raining outside? Suddenly, a laugh came out of his throat. He was facing the stairs and not moving at all.

     A click-clacking sound was heard on the stairs. Another figure came to the bar. “You piece of motherfucking shit,” Izzy cursed loudly. “I just threw you down the stairs and you are still laughing? What the fuck man?” The young girl was wearing a long leather coat. It was all wet, just like her hair and face. The beautiful make-up she wore was gone and her eyes looked like panda’s eyes. Without warning, the woman grabbed the man by his jacket and with using her strength she made him stand up on his feet. 

     “Oh yeah baby,” the man smiled, “you are the first slut that likes it rough.”

     “Ow,” Rick sighed quietly. “This is not good.” Bucky’s eyes were locked on her, scanning the girl’s moves, registering with one ear what Rick said.

     Izzy punched him right in the face and frowned. “You still haven’t learned your lesson, have you?” she said annoyingly and her tongue brushed against the upper teeth. But the man was only laughing, not making a big deal of it. Blood was running down his mouth, his eyes were locked on the woman, undressing her and she saw it. “I’m sorry,” her voice rapidly changed. All of a sudden, it was sweet and very girly. “I think you find it funny when a woman threatens you, am I right?” her eyes delightfully blinked.

     “Many girls punched me and in the end, I ended up with them in my bed,” he sent her an air kiss. “They loved riding my big fat cock and I believe you would enjoy it too. Come on, baby. I’ve heard you are one of the best whores here.”

     The raven-haired woman took a step back and inhaled the unpleasant smell from the bar. She was used to it. Her arms stretched and she turned to the people. “Would any of you like to grab him by the collar? This piece of fuck thinks I’m some kind of a joke. Please, come on, anyone? You have an amazing chance to do something amazing today – impress me. And, there is a prize! A bottle of any kind of alcohol is on me,” and then she smiled like a sun.

     The whole place was still quiet, only the music was playing in the background and it wasn’t loud like it used to be. Izzy was waiting for any man to stand up and fulfill her wishes. “I don’t have a problem with it,” Bucky said after some seconds, smirking. He was already on his feet. The only thing he did was take some steps closer to the two people. The brunet’s eyes sparkled a little, the smirk never leaving his face. Just when the man wanted to say something, Bucky, in a blink of an eye, gripped his neck with a left hand. A muffled robotic sound was heard from behind the clothing when he picked him up. The man’s legs were in the air and he was choking from the grip.

     Izzy’s dark eyes looked at Bucky and she devilishly smiled. “Now,” she breathed, “where were we? Oh, right,” she crossed her arms over the breasts, “Is this better? Is this still funny? Oh, I do believe it is,” she was talking mostly to the audience. “Does this still make me a slut? Honey, believe me, I can kill you with my bare hands. However, you laughed when I pushed you down the stairs or when I slapped you. Are you laughing now? I don’t see me threatening you anymore. My friend here,” she pointed at the soldier, “is doing the job.”

     “Oh, come on, Iz,” Rick spoke, smiling like a Satan. “Don’t play with him. Just kill the bug and let’s enjoy the night, shall we? I can bring you the black plastic bags.”

     “No, no, no,” she denied. “I can’t kill him. That would be way too easy. I’ll be doing him a favor. He needs to know and feel what’s like to be abused. He deserves to be tormented. Just look at his face.”

     When the man tried to do something, Bucky’s grip was even tighter. He knew how to hold him so would give him a little air and when to choke him. He could hold him like that for another hour if necessary. The truth was he never wanted to hurt people again. It was his past. However, he needed to fit in. The woman gave him home and he now he could peacefully live in her apartment until something would go very wrong and they find him. Maybe they’ll help him find some answers to his questions. Bucky immediately made his decision. There were many cons to remain a bad guy.

     “What if I chop his balls off or his dick?” she sang a little. “Then he won’t be able to stick it anywhere. He would be like that character from my favorite TV show from the medieval times.”

     “Ouch, girl, that is a brutal one,” said one of Rick’s friends who was holding a beer in his hand. “Even my boys are afraid now.”

     “Please,” the man wheezed. “Don’t do it. I- I’m,” he tried to say something but couldn’t.

     Izzy tapped Bucky’s shoulder as a sign to release that man from the grip. He did as she told him, staying in the same spot and looking at the freak on the ground that was holding his throat and trying to breathe again. “You were saying?” the girl prompted.

     “You get your point, woman,” the man growled, still holding his neck. No one would expect another laugh from that man, but there he was, giggling like a little girl. He was really obnoxious and rude. “I can’t believe you had to use your puppet for threatening me,” and once again, he was smiling. “Why didn’t you do it on your own, ha, tough girl?”

    That was all Izzy had to hear from that unknown man. Whoever that was, she was about to make him suffer. Her patience was already gone. Her arm stretched to the man and she grabbed him by his wet hair. He moaned a little, gritted his teeth and looked into her dark eyes. This was the end for him – he knew it, he saw it. Without any other words, the girl harshly dragged the guy outside of the bar, where would be no witnesses. The weather had once again changed and it was heavily raining. That’s why her clothes and hair would be again all wet.

    “She’s really pissed off,” Bucky said when the two of them were gone. Even when the girl was absent, the people in the bar remained quiet and didn’t dare to continue with drinking or chatting. Izzy was a dangerous young woman and as usual, she showed them her dark side.

     Rick’s giggling was interrupted by a terrifying scream. It belonged to the man. It sounded like the last voice of his life. “Well, may he rest in peace,” Raven finally said, when the scream ended. He took a bottle of beer and drank from it.

     The brunet went back to his seat. Izzy was indeed a fearless, intimidating woman. Who knew what she did to that piece of shit? “At least we know she’s back – healthy and her mood is fucked up,” Bucky commented. “In fact, did you know that guy?”

    “I’ve never seen him in my life,” the bartender replied, taking a tray full of shots and going away from the bar. While passing the brunet man, he added, “And now we won’t see him ever again,” and he laughed.

     Bucky had a light smile on his face, slightly rolling his eyes. Yes, they were crazy, but who was he to judge? He was no better. That’s why the man had finally relaxed and drank his beer. After a couple of seconds, he was talking to the men, who were regularly sitting behind the bar, chatting with the bartender. The one with the dark chocolate skin was a seventy-year-old man, who loved pot and his life has always been wild. His real name was Edgar. The other guy was younger and he was much calmer than anyone else in this place. The man’s name was Trent and he was a widower.

     “Fucking son of a bitch,” Izzy was back and she was rubbing her hands against her black dress. The heels were click-clacking on the floor and the long leather coat was revealing her sexy outfit. The dress had a deep neckline and its skirt part was pretty short. She wore nylon stockings with a sexy lace pattern on each side of legs. She sat next to Bucky on a barstool and crossed her legs. “I’m not a slut,” she declared angrily, mumbling words under her nose. “That should teach him a fucking lesson.”

     Rick came to her with an empty tray. “Relax, sweetheart,” he kissed her on the top of her hair. “You did the best thing,” he supported her and went to the register. “He’s gone and now you can enjoy our company,” he gave her a friendly smile, pointing at the people sitting at the bar. He even included Bucky – that was unusual.

    The raven-haired girl turned to the soldier and checked him. “I’m impressed,” she started to talk to him. Bucky gave her his full attention. “I wasn’t expecting you doing it. Well, I wasn’t expecting you here at all,” she said monotonously, eyes looking into his blue one.

     “Well,” he took a deep breath, “you let me stay at your place. This was the least I could do,” he winced a little, taking the bottle of beer back to his hand and sipping the liquid. “For your information, I didn’t do it for the alcohol. You can keep the bottle,” and he winked at her.

     Izzy took a deep breath and turned her head to Rick. “Hey babe,” she smiled a little. “Give me a bottle of the best vodka you have here. It’s for the savior here,” she poked the brunet’s shoulder, making a grimace. “He deserves it for what he did today. He’s a true hero.” The man had to roll his eyes and she saw it. “You stepped in and grabbed that dickhead by his collar. Respect,” and it didn’t sound sarcastic at all.

     “Oh, fuck this shit,” Rick had to roll his eyes and he immediately grabbed a twenty dollar bill from his own wallet. The other two men did the same and they handed Bucky the money.

     “What’s happening?” Izzy was confused a little.

     “You just accepted him,” Edgar answered her question. “We made a bet and once again I lost.”

     “Oh boys,” she laughed a little. “Aren’t ya cute?”

     The bartender gave Bucky the promised bottle of vodka. “Oh, and five glasses, if you don’t mind,” the brunet asked. “Well, you all are drinking with me,” the brunet smiled and waited for the glasses. Meanwhile, he opened the bottle and smelled the aroma.

     “How was the job, Izzy?” Rick turned to the girl while Bucky was pouring the vodka. “You said you’ll be back this morning and you weren’t. What happened?”

     A shot glass appeared in front of her. “It was difficult, funny, interesting and disgusting at the same time,” she sighed, making a grimace. “In Jacksonville, I had to pretend I’m a stripper – well, that was the fun part – and I had to seduce this forty-year-old-man whose breath smelled like a tuna in the worst condition ever. Oh, and the most disgusting part?” she stood up, took off the coat and turned to the man, so they could see her right side. She grabbed the hem of the dress and pulled it up, and showing her black lace thongs through the stockings. Bucky dryly gulped and bit his lower lip. The girl was really confident and brave.  And there on the right cheek was a purple bite mark. The men could see it through the almost transparent piece of clothing.  “That moron bit my ass and now it looks like this!”

     The gray-haired man started to laugh out loud, barely holding the tears back. “Fuck, this is gold,” he shouted. “Now, tell us what have you done with that tuna head?” Rick was curious.

     Izzy gritted her teeth, rolled down the dress and sat back on the barstool. “Let’s just say the only food he’ll be eating is porridge.”

     “Ouch,” Edgar stroked his mouth. “You pulled out his teeth?”

     Izzy brightly smiled at him, nodding approvingly and took the glass of vodka between the fingers. “Once again I’m back here, sitting in my favorite pub, drinking vodka like a pro,” she chuckled. “I had two rough days, but believe me; it’s good to be back here with you, boys. And I would like to welcome our new member,” she looked at Bucky, “who proved he’s worthy of our company, time and alcohol. He’s like us and I believe he will help us just like we helped him. Welcome to hell! You are going to love it. We are nothing more than freaks. Cheers!” After her speech, every one of them drank the liquid.

     “Welcome officially in The Raven, Bucky,” Rick said his name for the first time and smiled. “Don’t fuck it up, or I’ll be the first one who’s going to kill you,” he winked at him. “Not her, but me. I am a son of a bitch too. Don’t try to mess with me.”

     “I wouldn’t dare,” the brunet nodded.

     “With great power,” the black-haired girl tapped soldier’s shoulder, “comes great money. People are going to love him. Just look at him,” she was gesturing with hands, “he’s fearless, sexy and dangerous. Someone should write a song about this man.“

      “Iz, are you drunk?” Rick looked at her, not believing what she just said. She gave showed him her tongue like she was a five-year-old.

     Bucky playfully rolled his eyes and a grin appeared on his face. “That’s flattering,” he laughed a little.

     “Let’s celebrate, shall we?” Izzy took the brunet’s bottle and poured them another round. “The night is young and tonight is all about… the alcohol!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter on Sept 29 or Oct 9.


	5. Chapter five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try to post new chapters every Friday (or at least every second Friday). I have so many things to do - school, work. It's crazy.  
> Thank you for reading this story! I really appreciate it! :)

**CHAPTER FIVE**

                _~ Okay, Izzy, what are you going to do now? He’s living with you. You have just accepted this guy into our lives. What is your next step?_

_~ I will bring him to his knees if it’s necessary. I have to make him a little stable. We saw what he did when he first came to the bar. The only way to make him stable is to push him to his limits. Or at least try to do it. I’m not scared of him. I know what I’m doing._

     “Are you really worth of all this?”

     “What?” Bucky mumbled from his dream, his face frowning a little. Did that voice come from the dream or not? Was it even talking to him? He got his answer in a minute when something dropped on his stomach. It wasn’t heavy, but it was unpleasant and shocking. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath, founding a person standing above him. His sight was a little blurry, but he came to it very quickly. He knew who was there.

    “Wake up,” Izzy said strictly, arms folded over her breasts. She was wearing a black hoodie, black mid-thigh workout pants, and black sneakers. The girl’s favorite color must have been black. Her hair was already braided in a reverse French ponytail. Her face was without a grain of makeup and she still looked dangerously pretty. “Pack sportswear and things for showering,” she ordered, her voice not changing a bit.

     The brunet was confused and sat up, holding a black bag in his hands. That was what fell on his body. “What time is it?” he yawned, blinking his eyes.

     “Five in the morning,” she answered his question. “And you have five minutes to get ready. I’ll be waiting outside for you. Hurry up. We have so much to do today,” and she just turned around on her heel, leaving the man alone in the apartment. Izzy wasn’t in the mood for many questions, waiting or probably living in general. Her mood was a bit grumpy.

     The man stood up, stretched and quickly went to the bathroom where he took things for hygiene and a towel. He hurriedly took a look at his reflection in the mirror. His longer brown hair was falling on his face and he had dark circles under eyes. Once he was back and fully dressed in casual clothes, he put some work-out clothing in the bag with the rest of the things and after locking the apartment, he ran down the stairs. He had no idea what was happening, why he had to wake up that early. His mind was a mess and he was only awake for a few minutes. Once again, he had nightmares, showing him the darkness and the devil’s dark eyes. It was haunting him, even intimidating him. Were they only dreams or a hidden past?

     “Were you talking to me before I woke up?” he asked when he finally approached her, eyes scanning on the surroundings. It was still dark outside, there were no people and Izzy looked a little relaxed. She was deeply inhaling the fresh air and her fingers were playing with the ends of her braided hair. Bucky found a small bag hung on her shoulders.

     Her eyebrows kinked. “No?” she gave him a weird look and started to walk down the street. The man was instantly following her. “Now, I’m going to tell you the plan for today,” she started a conversation. “Since you are a part of my group, you are going to listen to me and since you will work for me – let’s face it, you have no other option – you need to stay fit. This morning, I will show you my favorite gym where we are going to train together. Later, after a shower and some food, we have to go to The Raven where the rest of the group is waiting for us.”

     “Sounds like a plan,” he replied neutrally.

     They were quiet until they came to an old building. It looked like a gym; build probably in the 1960’s. She took out a bunch of keys. One of them belonged to the lock of the main entrance. Together, they went inside and Izzy locked the door behind them. Subsequently, she turned on the lights by switching on the snapper. Bucky’s nose smelled dust and mold. There was a hallway, leading to a wooden two-way door. The place looked like the one back in Hydra. It was a scary place, full of painful moments and memories. He sighed and looked at his feet, clenching both fists.

     “The men’s dressing room is on the left,” she pointed at the nearest door to him. “Get ready. I’ll be waiting for you inside.”

_~ Izzy, do you think that is a good idea? What if he really hurts you? He’s the fucking Winter Soldier._

_~ Rick, believe me. I’m ready for injuries, blood, and bruises. I know he’s strong, but is strength enough? This is nothing comparing of what’s coming. And I told you at the very beginning when you met me, we are in great danger._

     An hour later, after both of them warmed up, each on the other side of the gym; Izzy went into the middle of the room, where she stood on a mat. She was barefoot, only wearing the work clothes. The hoodie was long gone and she was only wearing a black sports bra. She saw Bucky’s face when she exposed her body a little. His eyes were fixated on her and the man was barely breathing. “Come here,” she said out loud, her voice strict. Her tongue licked her lower lip and she looked at her feet, both hands putting on her sides.

     Bucky was holding dumbbells in his hands when he heard her voice speaking to him. He slightly grunted, putting the dumbbells back to their place right under the massive mirrors. Before he could follow the woman, a noise came from the other side of the gym. One of the old lamps unexpectedly broke down, cracking like a glass. The man winced a little and dryly gulped. His fists were again clenched and he was ready to fight if necessary. He stepped on the mat; the flesh dexterous digits were combing his longer hair behind his head. They were already sweaty from the workout just like his whole body.

     “We are going to fight together as a part of our training,” she said after the man stopped in front of her. “Now, the most important thing – don’t hold back.”

    “But…”

    “No,” she cut him before he could complain. “I don’t want to hear anything like that, especially not from you. You are the Winter fucking Soldier, am I right? Or am I wrong?” She put her hands behind her back and looked him in the eyes. “Show me what you got, soldier and don’t be afraid. I’m not made of porcelain. Come on,” she smirked at him, “I dare you to punch me. Don’t be scared. ”

     The man playfully rolled his blue eyes and laughed a little. “I’m not scared.”

     “Then what are you waiting for?” she mocked him. “Are you afraid to hurt a girl? What if I am a traitor? What if I work for the police? What are you going to do, soldier?” she was still speaking to him, trying to boil his blood, but not much.

     “Sweetheart, if you are trying to piss me off, I have sad news for you,” he winked at her, preparing his body to attack her. “You need to be more creative. Maybe it is way too early for you and you can’t think of any good insult. Your brain is not properly working,” said his sassy mouth.

    “If I were you, I would watch my mouth, Barnes.” And now she had him. She slowly showed him her perfect white teeth in a victorious smile. That name changed the expression on his face. His jaw almost dropped on the floor. How did she know his last name? He never mentioned it. In a second, he was after her. His mind wanted new answers. He longed for it so much; he was willing to do anything to get them – even beat the shit out of that woman. Bucky’s metallic arm shot out forward, trying to hit her. It would have been a hard punch, but Izzy took a step back, grabbed his metallic wrist and without using strength, she pulled him down. A loud thud was heard in the gym, mixed with grunting and growling. The raven-haired woman started to play with her fingers, looking like she didn’t even make a move.

     Bucky pushed his body from the mat and stood up. A tear of sweat was running down his forehead. His face made a shocking expression. “What the fuck was that?” he had to ask, not believing what just happened. “You are fast.”

     “I’m not fast,” she replied and put both of her hands behind her back again. “Are you sure you are the Winter Soldier because all I see is a fucked up man who can’t punch a girl,” she smirked a little, eyes locked on his face.

     “The last time I attacked you, I almost choked you with my hand,” he reminded her the day they met in the pub. The girl only rolled her dark eyes. “Now seriously, Izzy, are you testing me? What was that supposed to be? And how did you know my last name?”

     “Too much talking while fighting, no?” her eyebrows lifted up and she came closer to him. “Come on, soldier, I know you can do much better than this. Now,” she tapped his shoulder and moved behind his back. “Today, you have to defeat me – that is your only task. I may be a girl, but I know how to fight and how to defeat myself. Can you fight too?”  

     Bucky slowly turned to her. Was she underestimating him? “I had a rough training in the past. I know how to fight,” he growled, his face frowning. “Will you be able to survive?” Without any warning, he tried to attack her one more time. This time, he was focused on her actions and predicting her moves. His plan was to put her on the mat and interrogate her, if not kill her. There was a high possibility she knew something about him, that this wasn’t a coincidence. He put his full strength into the punch. Once again, Izzy only took a step back and with an easy move, he ended on the mat, shocked. “Fuck!” he snarled loudly. The fact he couldn’t attack her was frustrating him a lot. Before Bucky could stand up, Izzy quickly jumped to him and kick the man in the back, making him fall on his stomach.

     “Just look at you,” she started talking, her voice being intimidating. “Being beaten by a girl,” she giggled. Her hand grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head backward. “Tell me who you are, soldier.” Izzy slapped his face with her free hand. “Tell me, what do you want?”

     Bucky took an opportunity and his metal hand wrapped around her ankle, shoving her down on the mat with an angry moan. His blood was now boiling, just like she wanted. There was no going back. His chest rising and falling, his teeth were gritted and he only wanted to punch her back, so she would finally shut her damn mouth. “I don’t have to tell you anything!” he screamed, immediately scrambling on her body and pinning her hands down next to her head. He thought he had her. The girl wickedly smiled at him, showed her white teeth and with a very easy move, she got rid of him. She did it before Bucky could sit on her waist. Her legs wrapped around his torso and she rolled him down, changing the position. Now she was the one sitting on him. Even when he was still tightly holding her wrists, Izzy managed to turn her hands, using her strength and rip them off from his grip. They were like two children, fighting. With a side of her right arm, the girl hit him in the neck, making him choke a little. Now, she had some time to quickly stand up.

     “What’s the matter, boy?” she asked him, catching her breath a little. “Are you going to whine like you are doing every night?” she mocked him. “Are you having bad dreams, boy? Do they make you cry and sob?” He slowly sat, fingers gently caressing his throat. “If you want to work for me, you need to get better at this.”

     He wasn’t responding. The blue eyes were full of rage and the only thing that was stuck in his head was to beat her badly. Bucky was looking at that sassy face, ears registering every word she said. He got up, tongue licking his lower lip. “Do you really want to know who I am?” he said darkly, deeply inhaling the unpleasant smell from the gym through his nose.

     “Go on,” she teased him. “I dare you.”

    With that, another fight started. Bucky’s rage was higher than the tallest building in the USA. His metallic hand made a noise when he clenched it into a fist. Using the hidden strength, he tried to punch the girl, but once again she dodged it. This time, he only hit a pillar made of stone that was right behind her. He made a hole into it. He wasn’t waiting for her actions. Bucky quickly turned around and started a fight like he used to do back in the time. He was fast, strong and his metal arm gave him an advantage. Izzy was pretty shocked by his sudden moves. “I am the Winter Soldier!” Bucky screamed and tried to hit her once more. This time, he punched her in the ribs. Izzy painfully groaned. “I can kill you with my bare hands,” he continued, kicking the woman, but she luckily blocked it. She used one opportunity and caused him a monocle with a fist. When Izzy managed to kick him, he cleverly grabbed her by an ankle and struck back, throwing her on the mat. “People like you are my mission,” he hit her right in her nose and it immediately started to bleed.  “You are my enemy. I have to kill you,” he growled, pinning her down. His metallic arm gripped the woman’s throat. His mind was somewhere else. Like it wasn’t the Bucky she brought to the gym with her. This was someone else – the Winter Soldier.

     “Bucky,” she whispered, not able to breathe. It was only a matter of seconds. She had to decide what to do. There was one way how to get away from his grip, but it was too early to show him. And so she waited. “Bucky,” one of her hands rested on his metallic arm, the other gently touched his face full of rage. When her fingers gently linked with his cheek, he stopped. Bucky suddenly appeared in his dream. It was like the one where he was training with the blonde girl back in Hydra’s base.

      He came back to his mind. The man was breathing heavily, eyes wide open like he couldn’t believe what he had done. His lips were shaking. “Fuck,” he mumbled and pulled his hand away from the girl’s throat.

     Izzy quickly took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. She put a hand under her nose and wiped out the blood. It was still hardly bleeding, but she didn’t mind it. This was exactly what she wanted. “Tell me who you are,” she whispered while opening her dark eyes that met his.

     “I- I,” he hesitated. Now, he knew why she wanted to know it, why she was doing all of it. “I don’t know.”

     “Yes, you know,” she said, slowly sitting up. She felt the drops of blood falling on her neck and sports bra. Bucky dropped on his ass and hid his face into the giant palms. “Take a deep breath and tell me who exactly you are.”

     The brunet carefully looked at the black-haired sweaty girl, who was sitting opposite him. He did punch her really hard. “My name is James Buchanan Barnes, but they call me Bucky,” he finally answered her question. “That’s all I know about myself.”

     “Good,” she nodded and slowly stood up. Her hands were all dark red from all the blood. “Why did you stop choking me?” that was another question she had. Her hands reached for his. Bucky looked at her, scared to even touch her. “It’s fine,” she impelled him. “Take my hands and stand up. I know you won’t hurt me now.” That was all he needed to hear. Bucky took her hands, not caring if they are from blood and with her help he stood up. He swiftly took off his sweaty shirt gave it to her, so she could put it on her nose. Neither of them had a napkin. “Thanks,” she nodded, eyes falling on his body.

     Bucky was standing in front of her shirtless and he looked very good. He had muscles, firm chest, and stomach. The abs were beautifully showing off. She looked at his scars that he had from the metallic arm. They were slightly pink, but the one along the edge of the metal was visibly and still brightly red. There were other scars too, smaller one on his sides and on the flesh arm. The man was hot, even with them and the injuries, very sexy and really sweaty. Her dark eyes were glued on his body, not leaving anywhere. It was even better than a TV. “How did you-“

    “How did I know this would happen?” she kinked an eyebrow, breaking the eye contact with his half naked body. “I had to deal with someone like you in the past. That person was totally crazy, very angry and had no idea what was happening in this world. It was a worse case than you are. Plus, the day we met, you showed us how unstable you actually are. You see, I am a bitch, but I do have a heart,” she giggled a little.

     “So, you are trying to help me?”

     “Yeah, we can say it like that,” she made a grimace.

     “I could have killed you,” he breathed. “When you said my name, everything inside me changed. In fact, how did you know my name? I’ve never said it out loud,” he panicked. Was he losing his mind?

     The girl tapped him on the right shoulder, smirking under the piece of sweaty, bloody shirt of his. “Internet and television, Bucky,” she finally answered his question. “I found some information about you – not a lot, but it was something. There is this museum and…”

    “Yeah,” he said, interrupting her speech and nodding. “I’ve been there and I’ve read some information about me too. Oh, wow, for a moment I thought,” he stopped, thinking if he should continue or not.

    “You thought what?”

    His lips crooked into a small smile. “I thought you were from my past and that you might know some answers,” he sighed.

    “How is it possible that you don’t know your past?” she had to ask and quickly looked at the piece of clothing. The bleeding was slowly receding. Bucky didn’t want to answer her question, so she continued. “Fine, Bucky, we have to go now. We have other plans to do such as meeting with Rick at the bar, buying new guns and preparing for our little trip.”

    “One more thing,” Bucky stopped her before she could leave. “Those moves you did,” he took a deep breath. “What was it? You pulled me down with one easy move. You said you are not strong, but it felt like that. How did you do it?”

     “I’ll show you, but all in good time, my friend. All in good time,” she patted his shoulder and with that, Izzy went to the lady’s changing room. 

     …

     “Look who’s here!” Rick was sitting on a wooden chair, holding money in his hands and counting them. Next to his left arm was a bottle of opened beer. He was wearing dark jeans and a gray baggy shirt. His tattoos were visible to everyone now and Bucky could see them for the first time when he came to the bar with the black-haired woman by his side. “Bonnie and Clyde,” he laughed. “What happened to you,” he pointed at Izzy’s nose and Bucky’s eye. “Let me guess – wild sex?”

     “No,” she rolled her dark eyes and sat in front of the man. “We had a training this morning. He made my nose bleed and I punched him in the eye,” a bright smile appeared on her face. Her legs were suddenly on the table, in front of Rick. Bucky took a chair from the next table and sat between Rick and Izzy, his back facing the stairs. He put off his black leather jacket and draped it over the headrest of the chair. He was wearing a dark green cap, but he left it on his head. “Tell me, baby,” Izzy continued and her eyes locked with Rick’s one. “Where’s the guy with our guns?”

     “Patience, baby,” Rick smiled. “We are waiting for Trent. He should be here any minute. It’s his friend who’s giving us the guns for a good price.”

     Bucky scanned Rick’s tattoos on his arms. There was a skull on flames, cross, some writing and a picture of a naked woman. The man wanted to stay forever young, he guessed. “Are you going to tell me details for the little trip you mentioned earlier today?” he asked the girl, eyes never leaving Rick’s tattoos.

     “We’ll be going to Orlando in three days,” Izzy wickedly smiled and grabbed Rick’s beer. “One of my clients gave me a special mission for a lot of money. And a lot of money means an assassination of a concrete person. And that means there is a possibility we would have to assassinate more than one person if necessary.”

    “Sounds dramatic,” Bucky yawned. “I’m in because I don’t have any other option, am I right?” he finally looked at the girl who nodded in agreement.

     “Wow,” the old man laughed, “you two are becoming like best crime friends. I think I should be jealous,” he put a pile of money on one side of the table and started to count once again. “I hope you brought a lot of money, Iz. I’ve heard the man has something special for you.”

     “I hope it’s a pony!” After her words, Bucky laughed a little. “I hope it’s going to be good. If not, I’m not giving him any extra money for his services.” Izzy put down her legs from the table and took a rubber band from her wrist. She needed to put her very long hair into a high messy bun. She didn’t braid them after she came back from the gym.

     “Come on, Izzy. That guy is a pro. Don’t you worry, girl,” he smiled gently and looked at her. In a few seconds, her hairstyle was done and she looked differently. Some of the hair was still falling on the sides of her head. It looked good.

     A sound of an opening door was heard while they were talking. Neither of them turned to the stairs, believing it was Trent who came to the bar with the guest. When The Raven looked at the entrance stairs, he saw two unknown men, wearing casual clothing and both of them were bald. The bartender took a deep breath and stopped counting the money. “We are closed,” he growled a little, frowning at the two uninvited guests. “The bar is opening at six today.”

     Izzy got chills on her back. Her head was facing the bar, just like Bucky’s was. She didn’t dare to turn to the men. Something wasn’t right.

     “We are looking for someone,” one of them said, strong German accent echoing in Bucky’s and Izzy’s ears. The man held his breath and the girl clenched her left fist. The other hand scratched her nose and put it on her thigh, near the case with a knife.

     “Does this place looks like an Information booth?” Rick’s eyebrows lifted and check the men with his gray eyes. “Go to the bus station or the police if you need help.”

     One of them took out a gun from behind his jeans and aimed at the bartender. He loaded it. “You have two options, old man,” he said. “Tell us what we want or you will die.”

     “We are looking for a man – the Winter Soldier. You might have heard of him,” the second man said, looking at the two other people in the pub. “Not long ago, two of our men were here, asking you the same question. Once again, we received the information he was here.”

     “First of all,” Rick crossed his arms over his chest, “I don’t work here every day.” That was a lie, “which means I don’t know if that man was here or not. Secondly, put that gun down. You may hurt yourself, boy.”

     “What about the rest of you? Do you know the Winter Soldier? Have you seen him?”

     The girl sighed and slightly turned her head to Bucky. She could see how nervous he was. They were looking for him and had no idea he was sitting right in front of them. There wasn’t much to do. “We asked you a question!” the other one yelled and put a gun right behind Bucky’s head. The barrel was touching the cap and he could feel the pressure of the weapon. The brunet wanted to react and start a fight. Izzy was quicker than him. She slowly stood up. Both of her hands were next to her sides.

     “Are you ready to kick some ass, Soldier?” the raven-haired girl asked the brunet, wickedly smiling.

     Bucky turned her head to her and grinned at her. “Indeed I am.” With a very swift and precise move of his metallic arm, he reached for the gun behind his head and ripped it out of the man’s hand. He threw the gun on the floor and quickly stood up. The girl took the other guy.

     “ _Soldier! You are coming back to Hydra!_ ” a man yelled in Russian now with a slight German accent.

     “Never,” he mumbled angrily, kicking the man hardly into his stomach. “I’m never coming back _._ ”

     Rick stealthily stepped aside from the fight, trying to reach for his shotgun.

     The black-haired girl used her moves on the other fucker. He was bigger than the other guy, but muscles didn’t mean strength. She twisted his right wrist and pulled him on the wooden floor. There was rage building inside of her. When the man had time to look into her face, his jaw almost dropped on the floor. “ _It’s you_ ,” he said in German and she understood. His brown eyes found the dark, mysterious one. Izzy’s eyes changed. There were very unusual – the sclera and the irises of her eyes were totally black. She looked like a demon. “ _We found the lost jewel,_ ” he gasped.

     The woman grabbed him by his neck with both hands. The pressure of her hands was very strong. Before he could say anything else, she swiftly twisted his neck with a loud crack and he fell on the floor like a rag-doll. She had to kill him. There was no other option. Before she turned to Bucky and the other man, she needed to take a deep breath. Her eyes were getting back to normal.

     When Bucky finally held the man in his hands, he frowned at him. “I’m done with Hydra.”

     “ _You will never get out of Hydra’s tentacles_ ,” the man continued in Russian. “ _You will always be part of Hydra. We own you_ ,” and after he was done with his speech, he started to say random words. “ _Longing,_ ” his voice was suddenly deeper, more serious. He looked into the soldier’s eyes. The brunet lost his breath and his eyes opened even wider. “ _Rusted_ ,” the man continued and Bucky let him go.

     “No!”

     “ _Seventeen_.”

     “Stop!” he tried to plug his ears with palms.

     The girl saw what was happening. The brunet slowly kneeled in front the man. He was panicking and he was scared. She took the gun from the floor and without thinking she stepped closer to the man. Before he could say any other word to Bucky, Izzy aimed at his right temple. “Eat that, motherfucker!” and a loud shot was heard in the bar. A blood squirted from his head, making a mess on the floor, on her clothes and some of it even dropped on Bucky’s hair and face. She swore there were parts of his brain lying on the floor and table.

     “Fuck! That’s disgusting!” Rick yelled and almost puked into the sink behind the bar.

     The Winter Soldier was still on the ground, shaking and holding his ears. He wasn’t able to register his surroundings. “Bucky?” Izzy came closer to him. “Bucky!” she touched his shoulder.

     “No!” he was suddenly on his knees, attacking the girl. He grabbed her by the neck with his metal arm and pulled her up. Her legs were kicking in the air. “Leave me alone!” he screamed.

     “Bucky…” Izzy gasped, barely breathing. “Put-me-down! Please! It’s me!”

     “Izzy!” Rick was shocked. Once again, the soldier attacked his favorite girl. He was now aiming at the angry man with his shotgun, who acted like the biggest psychopath. “Put the girl down, boy or I’m going to shoot you down!” But he didn’t listen.

     “Bucky…” her face was getting paler and paler. “Buck…” Still nothing. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

     His baby blue eyes were looking into her face. There were moments when he wasn’t recognizing her. He was only holding a girl who was saying a name that he didn’t know. Those words made changed his behavior, his thinking. He took a deep breath and his eyes discovered a darkness slowly surrounding him. What was it?

     “James.”

     That name broke something deep inside of him. The voice, the name – that was his name and the sweet voice was singing in his mind, just like he heard it in his dreams. Before he could come back to reality the darkness almost fully absorbed him. His grip was suddenly without an object. Bucky opened his mouth and the last thing he could remember was a pain coming from his vertex.


	6. Chapter six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a very long time (I'm so sorry guys!) new chapter is here!  
> I'd like to inform you that I can't write every day and post this story every week. I have a lot of things to do like studying and working and I like to spend time with my friends (occasionally partying). I'm traveling from the town I study back home and it's exhausting.  
> I'm trying to write every time I have the time (even during seminars at school - boy, university sux sometimes.)  
> That's all I wanted to write. Enjoy the chapter.  
> Oh, and about this chapter - I had to re-write it because it was boring and it didn't fit into the story. I think this version is better. I hope you will like it. :)

**Chapter six**

     The darkness was gone and he could see a person standing above him. The body belonged to a woman. The first thing he had noticed were the fully black eyes looking into his face. The shape was so familiar to him like he had seen those creepy dark eyes somewhere before. A hand was reaching to him and there was nothing he could do. Moving was the most difficult task to do. Cold, slender fingers brushed around his neck and squeezed it hard. It all felt so real. He could feel the digits on his neck, holding it tightly. The woman wanted to choke him to death. Bucky couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t a dream, he thought. What was happening?

     _Bucky?_

     His blue eyes had opened after hearing his name and he quickly sat up, gasping for air. He took a deep breath and his metal arm was suddenly around his neck, scanning if there were someone else’s fingers. “Bucky!” This time a feminine voice said his name loudly, trying to get his attention. His head turned to the voice, capturing Izzy’s figure. She was standing above him, holding a cold piece of clothing in her hand. She was wearing some casual clothes and they weren’t black at all. “Welcome back,” she continued when she had his full attention.

     The brunet didn’t understand what she meant by that sentence. What happened? Where was he now? When he looked around, he found himself lying on the couch back in the apartment. “Fuck,” he mumbled and rolled his eyes. “Fucking shit fuck. What have I done?” he whispered.

    The girl bit her lower lip, tossed the clothing on the floor and crossed her hands over the breasts. She was wearing a very loose white shirt that was pretty much transparent. She had a black bra under it. Bucky once again saw her naked legs. He wasn’t sure if she was wearing any shorts under the shirt or only underwear. She knew how to distract him. “Well, you almost choked me to death but somehow we managed to put you down,” she said it softly like it wasn’t a big deal. “You were out of control, Bucky. What is the last thing you remember?”

     He sighed, eyes instantly focusing on a window in front of him. It was already dark outside. How long was he unconscious? “Two men came to the bar and we fought them, but then that son of a bitch started to chant those goddamn words. Then I lost it,” he dryly gulped and hid his face into his giant palms.

    “What words and who were those men?”    

 “It is an organization called Hydra,” he slowly started to talk about his past. “They kept me, trained me to become the Winter Soldier. I was their greatest weapon. They somehow programmed my brain to switch into the killer mood when they said those fucking words,” Bucky grunted. “I don’t know much, but I know they will do anything to capture me. I- I,” and then he quickly changed the subject. “How long was I out? Did you even buy the guns?”

     “Hum,” she hummed. “You’ve been unconscious for the rest of the day. It’s ten in the evening. And fuck the guns. We postponed the meeting for tomorrow. We had to take care of you…”

      “I should leave,” he said without proper thinking, interrupting her speech. Izzy almost choked on her own saliva. “You are not safe with me. Even your friends are not safe with me. I almost killed you. I can kill you anytime.”

     “Almost,” she said the word markedly. “Almost, Bucky, but you didn’t.”

     “It doesn’t matter,” he harshly stood up. “I am an uncontrollable killer.”

     Izzy stepped in front of him and hardly punched him above his left pectoral. “So am I,” she growled and looked into his eyes. “You think you are some kind of a special soldier? You think you are the only one in the world, the only killer? Well, you are wrong.” She gritted her teeth and cocked her head. “Just because someone threatened you, you are going to leave now?”

      He was looking at her with squinted eyes. Bucky was taller than Izzy. “Don’t you get it?!” he started to yell at her and grabbed the girl by her shoulders. “I am different than you! You can pretend that you are a tough girl who can fight and kill anyone, but that is nothing from the things that I-had-done!” He was looking directly into her dark brown eyes; his face had a shade of red and the grip was pretty strong. “You have no idea who I am. You don’t know what I did.”

     The black-haired girl wasn’t playing with him. She used her strength and pushed him back on the sofa. He landed there with a loud thud. “Oh my fucking god, stop acting like you are the scariest, toughest and most dangerous man in the world!” she gritted her teeth. “Stop acting like I should be scared of you because I’m not!” Her voice was confident and strong. Like she said, she wasn’t afraid of him. When she made a significant move with her arms, the shirt revealed her black underwear under it. Bucky noticed it with one eye and dryly gulped. No matter they were yelling at each other, she looked hot.

     “Be careful, little girl or I‘ll make your nose bleed one more time,” he inhaled the air in the living room.

     “Then, come on, hit me with your best shot!” she growled, eyes never leaving his.

     Her tone and sentence made him angrily stood up and push his body against hers. Izzy could feel his hot breath on her face. Her head was aiming up, eyes scanning his face. “Are you trying to piss me off, doll?” he hissed. Standing too close to her dangerously beautiful body was arousing. Even when he was mad at her and would even slap her sassy mouth, he wanted to touch her delicious body. She was right in front of him, wearing almost nothing like she was doing it on purpose. His pants felt a little tight. It was such a long time he had sex. His erection was slowly showing off.

     “Just look at you. One thing goes into shit and you are freaking out like a little girl,” she kinked an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

     “What if they find me? What if they find you? They will instantly kill you. You have no idea who they are and what they are capable of.”

     “What if I took care of it?”

     He looked annoyed. “How could you possibly do it? Please, do tell me what you have done. I’m curious,” he was suddenly full of irony.

     “Oh, stop talking to me like I am some kind of a baby, Barnes! The world is not spinning only around you,” she inhaled his scent and did everything not to close her eyes. He smelled good and his intimidating position was only making her sexually aroused. That man was the sexiest man she has ever seen. When he took his shirt off back at the gym, she tried to not look at his sweet body but failed miserably. He was so fucking hot that she immediately had a pool between her legs. This time was no different. “You are not leaving because of this silly thing that happened.”

     “This is not a silly thing, Izzy!” he pushed her body from his and tried to reach the door. Ignoring his growing arousal, he focused his mind on leaving the apartment. “I’m leaving and there is nothing you can do about it.”

     “So, that’s it? After all, I’ve done for you?” she surprisingly blinked, her mouth almost dropped on the floor. “The Winter Soldier scared of a little attack is going to leave. You are crazy! No, you are a little pussy – afraid of the thought what might happen next. ”

     “Hey!” he snapped back, once again turned to her. His flesh index finger was pointing at her. “You were the one who said not to thank you for this. So, I’m not. I’ve made my decision and I’m leaving.” He had to leave. The girl’s body was calling him to touch her and take her even if she’s protesting. Yes, she definitely wasn’t safe.

     “Fine,” she crossed her arms over breasts and moved her shoulders. “Go. If that’s what you want, you are free to go.” Her voice and body were telling him to do as he pleased, but deep down, she needed him to stay for many reasons. “Take your stuff and leave my apartment.” Without any other word, she turned on her heel and silently went to her room and closed the door behind her. She left Bucky alone in the living room, not caring what he will do there. However, the girl knew how it would end. Her eyes and ears were everywhere.

     After several long minutes and various sounds, Izzy heard the sound of a closing door. Bucky really left her apartment and chose to run away. “Fuck,” she breathed, rolling the dark eyes. Grabbing her phone from the bed, she quickly called the only person who knew about everything.

 _-Hello?-_ Rick answered after few seconds. A rustle was heard from the other line. He was in the bar, working. There were a lot of people like any other day.

     “He left,” she gave him the information. “I knew he would. Hydra found him and he thinks neither of us is safe while he’s with us. Fuck, he has no idea about anything.”

 _-Why didn’t you tell him about everything?-_ he sighed and moved to a calmer part of the bar. _-I think it’s the right time, Iz. You can’t wait any longer.-_

     “He would kill me, that’s why I didn’t tell him yet,” Izzy bit her lower lip and slowly sat on the cold floor of the bedroom. “Believe me, when the time is right he’ll know about everything. He must be the one to remember. His brain wouldn’t process that information.” Taking a deep breath, she continued, “Hum, I wonder how he’s going to react when we will meet again.”

 _-Is it me, or are you falling for the puppy?-_ Rick laughed. - _You don’t want to give up on him, do you?-_

     “I’m not falling for him and I don’t have a crush on him. What the fuck man?” she started to laugh. “You know why I’m doing it. Stop mocking me, you piece of shit. I must admit he was looking at me very hungrily while we had a fight. I bet he had an erection.”

                _-So what now, princess, what is your plan? Are you coming here?-_

     “No,” Izzy yawned, stretching her legs while sitting. “I’m going to take a shower, eat something and go to bed. I need to make a new plan for the mission in Orlando. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon?” she smiled and closed her eyes.

_-Of course, Izzy. And don’t forget to breathe. See you tomorrow.-_

     …

     The sun was already down and the night was slowly coming. A lot of people were standing in front of the Raven. Some of them looked like polite people, not exactly fitting into this place. The black-haired woman was shocked by the people. Was something special happening down there? There were men who gave her sweet smiles and tried to be flirty. After few seconds, she finally solved the mystery – Happy Hour, everything for a lower price. Rolling her eyes, she approached the door. Izzy looked like she just came from a fancy party. A black tight dress, high heels, and her hair were brushed in a perfect high, massive bun with many braided pieces in it – yes, she definitely looked like she just came from a party. A leather jacket was hanging over her shoulders.

     “What is a lady like you doing in a place like this?” a young handsome man asked her. He was holding a glass of something, probably rum or another type of alcohol in the right hand. He had blonde hair and a friend of his was standing on the right from him.

     “Why doesn’t a guy like you mind his own business?” he winked at him and licked her lower lip.

     His friend started to laugh and quickly said, “Nice bike.” He was pointing at her black motorcycle, she used for transport.

     “Thanks,” she replied politely, heading down to the bar and ignoring the men. Walking down the stairs, she met many familiar faces. They belonged to the regular customers who liked to talk to Rick and Izzy. Most of them were wearing badass clothing that made them scary. Many of them greeted her; some of them only wave a hand.

    She was once again shocked when the pub was crowded. There was nowhere to sit. Luckily, Edgar and Trent were sitting on their stools, talking to the bartender. Those two men were permanent with Rick in the bar. The sounds of her clicking shoes made all of the men stop drinking and look at her. “Well, look who’s here! The light of my life,” Edgar smiled at Izzy, raising his glass of scotch. “Come here, sweetheart. You can even sit on my lap.”

    Before she could approach them, a random guy suddenly slapped her ass and laughed. “Or you can even sit on my lap, Cupcake.”

     Making an annoyed face and taking a deep breath, Izzy turned to the man and looked into his hazel eyes. He was still smiling like an idiot, waiting for her response. “Oh, baby, you are new here, am I right?” she asked calmly, her right hand gently touching his perfectly combed hair. He wasn’t allowed to reply. She grabbed his bottle of beer and smashed it against his head. The glass shattered and he had a big bloody wound on the top of his head. Some of the pieces of glass were stuck in there.

     “Holy shit!” somebody screamed.

     “Did you see that?!” another person said.

     Rick started to laugh-out-loud, banging his fist against the wooden counter. The new people in the bar were confused, looking at the bartender with their jaws on the floor. The wounded sassy man looked up at the woman and gritted his teeth in pain. He was holding the wound and his hand was covered with blood. A single drop of it was running down his face. “That is just the first warning, boy. Don’t ever do that again or I’ll make you scream and it’s not going to be of pleasure.”

     “Now that’s hot,” another male voice said near her. Izzy turned around to see a very good looking man, sitting next to the bar, drinking a beer alone. He looked like he belonged to a rock-metal band. He had short black, messy hair, wearing only black clothes and he had a wicked smile on his face. He had his eyebrow pierced and there was a massive black ring on his left pinky.

     “Thanks,” she replied without any interest and quickly scanned his face. Boy, he looked good. That man would be perfect for a wild one-night stand. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in the mood. Roughly poking the wounded man’s shoulder, Izzy went to her favorite men at the bar. A new barstool was already prepared for her. She sat down on it, crossed her legs like a lady and smiled at them. “Hello, my dearest boys.”

     “How I love it when you hurt someone,” Rick was smiling like a devil, handing her a glass of vodka. “You always look so sexy and intimidating and, oh, did I mention sexy?” he grinned.

     “What’s with the Happy Hour, Rick?” she cocked her head. “You must be truly desperate for new customers, am I right? Or you just wanted to be generous and make everything cheaper.”

     The grey-haired man pulled his sleeves up to show his tattoos. “Darling, my special delivery has arrived today. I have gallons of illegal alcohol from Russia, Czech Republic or Italy. Even my good friends from Romania and Slovakia sent me bottles of homemade plum brandy.”

     “Sounds delicious and dangerous at the same time,” she laughed a little. “Please leave me a bottle of that homemade plum brandy. I’d like to try it. I’ve heard they are very strong.”

     “You heard correctly,” he winked at her and grabbed a new bottle of vodka from under the counter.

     “Where’s our new friend. Is he staying at home alone, having a little mastur-vacation?” Edgar asked her, holding his glass between the old fingers, occasionally smelling the liquid.

     “He’s gone.”

     “He died?” Trent almost choked.

     She laughed. “No, he just decided to leave because he was way too dangerous for us,” Izzy changed her voice to make it funny, playfully rolled her eyes and drank the vodka. “But don’t worry, he’ll be back. It’s only a matter of time – well until I’ll receive information where he is or until I find him myself.”

     Her eyes met with the rocker. He really looked like one and that was a nickname she was going to stick with. The Rocker was holding a beer in a hand, slightly smiling at her. She never saw him in the bar. Why now? A corner of her lip curled into a light smile. Yes, he was sexy as hell and he tried to flirt with her – how daring. “And what if you’ll never see him again?” Rick talked to her and she turned her gaze to him. “What will you do then?”

     Making a move with shoulders, she replied, “I have no idea. Actually, I wouldn’t care. The past – my past – will be finally closed.”

     “And yet you like to open it every time you have the opportunity,” Rick said it loudly on purpose. “Okay, darling, I’m going to give you another shot of vodka if you promise me to think about it once again and this time, try to think calmly without saying _I know what I’m doing_.”

     “I know what I’m doing,” she mocked him on purpose, brightly smiling at him. “Of course I will.” That answer was all he needed to hear. Raven turned to the customers and started to talk to them, taking orders.

     Edgar looked at Izzy. “Now, tell me, I know it’s not my business, but what’s with you and that Bucky? You are mentioning your past and – I’m not an idiot – he’s clearly someone from it. I suspect he’s an important person, am I right?” he took a deep breath through his nose. “Probably, I’m no one special to you, but I just want to tell you to be careful. Okay? You are like the granddaughter I’ve never had.”

      Giving him a little smile was all he needed. That was very sweet of him. “Rick, I’m going to need your assistance in two days,” she called for him.

     “You want me to go on a mission with you?” the man turned to her and leaned closer. The people didn’t need to know what they were talking about. “Girl, I have a business to do here. I’m the fucking bartender,” he grinned, taking a clean glass from the sink.

     “I’ll only need you for technological purposes. You’ll be here with my laptop and the only work you’ll have to do is looking at a map and giving me directions. How hard can that be?” her eyes sweetly blinked at him. “Come on, I need some kind of a backup here…” She couldn’t continue, because her eyes once again met with the Rocker’s eyes. Damn, he was mesmerizing. How did a guy like him appear in a place like this? She cleared her throat and sighed. “I’ll send you the instructions, Rick.”

     The man quietly laughed and slightly turned around to look at Izzy’s new victim. “You are eye-fucking each other,” he giggled like a little boy.

     “It’s not my problem he’s staring at me,” she replied harshly. “Give me another shot of vodka. I’m thirsty! Oh, boy, you call yourself a bartender?”

     The Raven fulfilled her wish and gave the woman her favorite drink. Without waiting, she drank it and put the small glass on the wooden counter. “Thank you, my good men. Now, I have some other things to do,” she stood up and fixed her sexy dress. “My husband is waiting for me,” she said dramatically.

     “Are you talking about your vibrator?” Rick started to laugh. “You know, I can give you the real thing, baby. If you want, we can do it in the warehouse on the old sofa,” he winked at her.

     “Nah, I’m good,” she sent him a kiss and made her way to the stairs. All of the men were once again looking at her while she was leaving. Many of them have never seen a woman like her. She was fearless, and pretty, and scary. Her ass in that dress was like from a fitness magazine cover.

     She took the keys from a pocket of the leather jacket and approached her bike. With fingers, she gently stroked the machine and smiled at it. She loved her baby so much. Every time she was riding it, she felt free. It’s been five years since she finally got to be free, but somehow, deep inside, she wasn’t. The word freedom and its meaning were a lie. How could anyone like her ever be free?

     “So, that’s your bike,” a voice interrupted her thoughts. Izzy was already sitting on the bike and her eyes found the Rocker standing near her. He was looking at the black motorcycle, hands hidden in his jacket and smiling like a boy who just found his birthday present. “I’ve seen it many times here, but I’d have never thought it’s yours. You have a style.”

     “I know,” the dark-haired woman grinned at him.

     “See you next time?” that was the only question he asked her. That man didn’t even come closer to her for a small talk.

     “Yeah,” Izzy nodded and a soft smile appeared on her face. That man was definitely that kind of a guy for a passionate one-night stand. It was a pity he didn’t try to make a move. She would have graciously taken him to her place and fuck his brain out. It’s been a while since the last time she got laid. Starting the bike, Izzy left the man standing on the sidewalk…

     After several minutes, Izzy was back in her apartment. Closing the door behind her, she only saw an empty couch and her ears registered the quietness. It was different. Bucky was living with her for over two weeks. Now, she was there alone and it was just weird. She took off her leather jacket and threw it on the couch. The high-heels followed the lead. She took the mobile from the jacket and put it on the kitchen table. A knife from under the dress was next. She huffed and stretched her tired neck. Making her way to the bathroom, she stripped off the dress and lingerie, leaving a path of clothes behind her. It took her a few minutes until the bun was gone and she unbraided the long hair. The thought of cutting it made her sick. The long hair represented who she was.

     The shower was relaxing and pleasurable. Finally, she smelled like a sweet coconut and she even washed her hair. It was a long process with the shampoo and conditioner. In the end, the result was perfect and she knew her hair would be clean for over a week. Izzy wrapped a towel around her body and another one used for the hair. Her eyes found shower gel for men in the corner of the bathtub. It made her think of the soldier. Why was she suddenly feeling so bad? That never happened before. With a growl, she left the bathroom and went into the bedroom where she put on an old black shirt and dark purple shorts. The last thing she had to do was to put the towels back into the bathroom.

     It was less than a second when her feet stepped out the door. A hand grasped her throat so tightly she squealed; her dark eyes started watering. She tried to catch her breath and then she found those baby blue eyes looking into hers.

     “Hello, Shadow.”  


	7. Chapter seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter - hooraaaay! Okay, too much enthusiasm. I'm so happy I finished this one. I must warn you, there is a very disturbing part, so if you still don't like violence, murdering, don't read. I don't want to spoil the chapter, so I don't want to tell you what's there. Sorry.   
> I hope you will enjoy it no matter what. :)   
> I'm psycho. :D

**Chapter seven**

     Bucky’s flesh hand was tightly holding the girl’s throat, not letting her breathe or move. He pressed the feminine body against a wall between the doors to the bedroom and bathroom. Her feet weren’t touching the ground whilst he was trying to hurt her. He was looking into her eyes which were changing from dark brown until they were only black like the devil’s eyes. The transformation was truly a little fascinating. She gritted her teeth and tried to use her strength to push him away, but his metal hand swiftly grabbed the woman’s hands and pinned them above her head. The flesh thumb was pressed against the significant scar she had on the right side of her neck. “You fucking liar!” he growled loudly.

     Izzy smiled at him even without breath. She managed to say something to him. “I guess you found out. Good boy,” she praised him and smirked. Even without air and being close to death, she had the strength to be a bitch with sassy comments.

     “I finally know who you are! You are Hydra’s greatest creation!” he continued, making her squeal one more time. “Oh, your death is going to be so rewarding for my soul. I’m going to kill you with my flesh hand so I could feel your skin my palm days after you’re gone,” Bucky hissed, pushing his whole body against hers. “I knew I know you from somewhere. You were familiar. I even had dreams with you, that you were the darkness haunting me for nothing. We know how dreams can be weird. They are just a fantasy, a chaos in our heard while we are sleeping. However, after some research I did last night when I left your place, I discovered who you really are.”

     The woman still had some seconds left before she would pass out from lack of oxygen. “Do you want a Nobel Prize for that?” she barely whispered. It was time to turn the tables. Her already fully black eyes closed and her body vanished like a dark smoke. Bucky’s blue eyes widened when he saw the show in front of him. It was like a magic trick. His fingers were suddenly holding nothing but air. He could feel her body disappearing away. The girl was gone and appeared a moment later right behind him.

     He turned around to face her. The black eyes went back to its original color. Her wet hair was falling own over her shoulders making wet marks on the shirt. “Do you think you can take me back to Hydra?” he asked, still pissed off. Both of his fists were clenched, ready to hit her in the face. “I am done with them! I don’t belong to them anymore.”

     “I didn’t want to give you to Hydra, you dickhead,” she scowled, holding her position to defend herself. “That was never my plan.”

     “Oh, bullshit, little girl. I don’t believe a word you say,” he dryly gulped and took a deep breath. “Why should I trust you? How can I trust you? The only normal thing to do at the moment is to kill you. And believe me; I’m going to enjoy it very much.”

     “Fuck, are you insane? Not that I’m scared,” she added with a normal voice.

     “You are asking me? I think you are the one insane! Why did you take me to your apartment? Why did you want to help me, ha? It was all a plan, am I right?” he was constantly asking her something, but she knew any type of answer wouldn’t be enough satisfying for him. Bucky made a rapid move forward. Luckily, Izzy was faster than him and playfully dodged his attack. Taking his wrist, she pushed him down on the floor with a loud thud.

     “Remember how you wanted to know how I do it? It’s easy,” she tilted over him and grinned, “I’ve been learning Aikido – a martial art no one has ever taught us back in Hydra,” and she winked at him. “This martial art is mostly for defense. When you know how to use your strength, you can take anyone down very easily. This is my secret trick soldier.”

     Bucky reached for her leg and pulled her down on the floor. The girl sighed of surprise – she wasn’t predicting that move. The man climbed up her body and grabbed her by the wrists. “You little bitch…”

    “Yes, that is my middle name,” she said quickly, smiling.

     “You are going to tell me everything, or I’ll kill you slowly, painfully and the last thing you would see will be my face. Would you like that?” His face was only centimeters from hers. The blue eyes were filled with anger. The Winter Soldier was somewhere there, but it was still Bucky. He knew what he was doing and she knew he was trying to control his mind.

     She started to laugh. “Oh boy, you are so stupid.” Those words only made him let one of her wrists go and punch her in the face. It made her stop laughing and be silent. A red fluid was leaking from her mouth. He even tore her lower lip with his knuckles. “You are so going to pay for this,” she hissed very slowly. Once again, the girl vanished like a dark smoke and appeared behind him, tightly holding his throat with her arm, not letting him go.

     The brunet gasped, trying to get rid of the woman. He harshly threw himself backward, aggressively slamming her back on the floor. An unpleasant crack could be heard like something had broken in her spine.  Izzy let him go, rolling her dark eyes from the pain. That did hurt. “Use your words carefully, Shadow. They can be your last.”

     The black-haired girl spat saliva mixed with her blood on the floor. Those black eyes were already back, trying to scare him off. “How can you kill air? How can you kill someone who can vanish through your fingers?” she started to speak in Russian. “I am Hydra’s greatest creation, just like you said. I am known as the Shadow,” she was talking in English again. “Don’t you remember how they used to send us on missions to kill, to intimidate people? We were a team and you didn’t complain back then.”

     “That never happened! I know what I did, but I did it alone!” he screamed, the wrath spreading in his veins. “All those missions, actions, I did it alone without you. You were my enemy and you still are! I was supposed to find you and kill you. The best thing to now do is to kill you. I must kill you. I have to do it!”

     “Go ahead, try,” she spread her arms without giving a fuck or two, still lying on the floor. “I dare you, soldier.”

     The man was a bit confused. “What the fuck are you, woman? Don’t lie to me,” she snorted. “You said I was unstable but look at you little girl. Not giving a shit about anything. You belong to a madhouse.”

     Izzy sat up, stretching her legs and supported her body with hands. “First of all, stop repeating the story about killing me, it’s annoying. And just like you said – I do belong to the madhouse. I’m Shadow; I’m different than the rest of the people in the world, a weapon just like you are. I have amazing abilities and I’m not scared of you or anyone. They are scared of me. I’m not a good person. Why do you think the people in Rick’s bar respect me? Because they are afraid, they are scared of me. Don’t you remember the first time we met? I stopped Fat Joe before you could snap his neck. They didn’t do anything to me because they knew I would beat the shit out of him and his puppets. Once they tried to beat me up – once – and I had shown them what I was capable of. ”

    “Should I be grateful for that day we met or that you stopped a fight? I can take care of myself,” he laughed at her. He started to walk around her, ready for another attack. “All I know is that you are a manipulative bitch who works for Hydra.”

     “I-don’t-work-for-Hydra,” she gritted her teeth and said it slowly, angrily. “I ran away five years ago when I had the opportunity. I’m not their puppet anymore.”

     He didn’t believe her. “You are lying.”

     “And you are a big blind idiot. I’m not lying to you!”

     Those words made him go crazy. “Fuck, stop it you…” When his hand squeezed her shoulder, she took him by the wrist and put both of the bodies into total darkness. Her ability wasn’t only transporting her body like a black smoke, disappearing from place to place. She could take anyone with her. Bucky saw nothing but darkness. His body was unusually light, but he felt her touch on his wrist. It was strange, making his stomach flip a little. It felt like he didn’t exist but he felt her the whole time. When his eyes blinked, he saw himself standing in the middle of a wet road. He appeared somewhere outside of the city. It was so quick, it made him gasp. Turning around, he was scanning the surroundings. He saw some trees, a green wet grass with no cars on the road. Where was he? Where did that girl put him? “What the fuck?!”

     “You have two options,” a whispering voice said near his ear. When he turned to the sound of the voice, he saw the girl standing not far from him, her eyes looking into his. She was barefoot, wearing only shirt and shorts. Her hair was still wet. As he could see, she didn’t care about the cold. Even when the weather wasn’t pleasant at all, she was standing there without a move. Was he going crazy and not her? Was this really real? “Get your shit together and start thinking about the whole situation, soldier. Start talking and acting like a normal human being and not Hydra’s puppet and let me explain everything to you.”

     “Says you – the one who needs to start acting like a normal person,” he responded obscenely. “You are the crazy one here, not me.”

    Rolling her eyes and swallowing all the rude words she had on her tongue, Izzy continued. “Or you can leave and forget about me and everything. That’s why I brought you here. Once again, I’m giving you the fucking choice. But just remember, I was the one who got you out of trouble the last time. I took care of you when those two men from Hydra came to the bar. I took care of any Hydra man that could be in the city while you were lying on my couch unconscious. Oh, and I’m not even mentioning the fact you wanted to kill me that day in Rick’s bar when we were attacked. I did it all for a reason, Barnes!”

     “I’m not going to thank you. You said not to.”

     She would throw a rock at him if she had one in her hand. “Oh, how I want to just break your neck and kick you in the crotch at the same time,” her body was shaking from rage. Putting a strand of hair behind her ear, she huffed. “Fuck, Bucky, I couldn’t tell you anything because you were unstable! I needed you to find it out on your own. I can’t predict your moves or reactions.”

     “Lies!”

    “I’m not lying!” Her voice was echoing around them. “Imagine I would tell you about everything the day we met. You would call me insane and would run away.”

     “It doesn’t matter what you say now – I don’t believe you,” he sighed.

     With nodding, Izzy took a step back. “As you wish,” she whispered and subsequently, Izzy was gone.

. . .

      Twelve young, scared girls were standing in the middle of a cold dark room that smelled like a rot. The windows were covered in mold and the cold air was easily getting inside. Each girl was barefoot. They didn’t allow them to wear any shoes or even socks. It was a punishment for them because they were all querulous and teary. The girls were wearing black and gray sports clothes, nothing colorful. All of them were waiting for someone to come into the room and start their training. Usually, it was a tall masculine brunet who had a metal arm with a red star on the shoulder. Little did they know they had a new teacher – someone who was crueler than the soldier, someone who didn’t have any feelings. 

     The door to the room opened with an unpleasant creaking sound. The girls stopped breathing and focused their eyes on the door, waiting for the soldiers and their teacher to come on. Firstly, two men dressed in military clothing stepped in, holding guns in their hands. Right after them, a young girl with very long raven hair followed their lead, all dressed up in leather black clothing with boots on higher heels. The first thing they noticed was a very visible scar on the right side of her long neck that was ending somewhere under the shirt and behind the ear. She had her hair braided in a very long ponytail and her hands were hidden behind the back.  One of the girls – she looked like the toughest and strongest – took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes.

     “ _Where’s the soldier_?” she asked, her strong Russian accent was ringing in the woman’s ears when she stopped her steps right in front of the line of girls. She looked at the one who had the courage to ask the question. “ _Where’s the one who is supposed to train us_?”

     One of the men made a step forward but was stopped with the woman’s miniature wave of a hand. He didn’t say anything because he too was scared of her. Everyone in the Hydra facility was except the leaders and the Winter Soldier. She was unique, dangerous and fearless. The man dryly gulped and waited for her actions. When she took a step closer to the girl, the rest of them gasped and looked down on the floor, scared to keep an eye contact with her devilish, but beautiful face.

     The raven-haired woman was very close to the tough girl, who kept looking into the dark eyes. With a blink of an eye, the woman gave her a very hard slap on the face that made her fall down on the cold floor. A loud painful sigh was heard from the girl. She had blood in her mouth and some of it was also on the ground. The woman slowly leaned to her. Reaching a hand, she grabbed the innocent one by her neck and gripped it strongly. She was immediately choking, eyes watering.

     “ _No questions_ ,” the black-haired woman finally spoke, the sound of her voice was soft and not at all intimidating. “ _This is what happens to any of you if you have questions, or are annoying or useful_.” Before she could kill the one, she let her throat be and left her on the ground, catching her breath.

     Taking a gun from a leather cover that was attached to the massive belt, she handed it to a random girl – no she forced her to take it. “ _Shoot this bitch_ ,” the woman said roughly, not even looking at the chosen one. There was a massive silence after those words. It made her look at the girl. She was young, very young and her hair was short and blond. The little creature was probably only fifteen years old. That didn’t make the new teacher stop from the action. “ _Are you deaf? Kill her or I’ll kill you_.”

     The frightened girls were looking at the one who was holding the gun in one hand. Some of them were judging her, the rest of them were nodding as a sign of doing it. She was agitated, crying at the same time. With a shaking hand, she dropped the gun and it felt on the ground with a loud thud. “ _I can’t_.”

     The raven-haired teacher rolled her eyes and reached for the gun. The torture seemed to be over, but the truth was different. Having the gun in her hand, she approached the youngest one who was crying her eyes out. With a very swift move, she grabbed her by the head and spun it quickly. A loud popping sound from her neck was heard and she fell down like a ragdoll, dead. The girls gasped, shutting their eyes and covering mouths. That woman just killed a child. The dead body was lying on the cold ground with open eyes.  Without any other words, she pointed the gun at the bleeding girl and shot her right between her eyes. The bullet flew through her head and the blood with pieces of grain and skin made a mess around her. The body was covered in a dark red liquid; even the nearest wall had a splash.

     “ _This is what happens to you when you disobey the orders_ ,” the teacher started to talk while she hid the gun back into its cover. “ _If you want to survive, you have to listen and do as you are told._ ” She turned to the remaining ten girls. “ _Your parents won’t save you; the God won’t save you because there is no God. Be good and you’ll be rewarded. Do this_ ,” she pointed at the dead bodies, “ _and you’ll end up like this_ – dead on the ground.”

     The door to the room unexpectedly opened and another person stepped in. The girls already knew the person that came there. It was the Winter Soldier, dressed in a black tactical suit. He was holding a file in his hand. “ _You are killing my girls_ ,” he growled, eyes fixing at the woman with the scar on the neck.

    “ _They are not your girls_ ,” she hissed and rolled her eyes. “ _From now on, they are my girls and I’ll do as I please,_ ” she turned to him and frowned, crossing her arms over breasts. “ _What are you doing here anyway?_ ”

     Handing her the file, he answered her question. “ _Mission in three days – just the two of us. Silent assassination in Warsaw – you will find the rest of the information in the papers,”_ he said monotonously, eyes meeting the dark one. “ _Don’t fuck it up, Shadow_.”

     She laughed a little, looking at the papers. “ _I am a professional, Winter. It’s you I’m worried about_.”

     With a huff, the soldier turned on a heel and went back to the door. “ _Don’t kill the rest of the girls or Orlov is going to kill you_ ,” he remarked. “ _Have fun_ ,” and he left the room, leaving the scared girls with the woman and guards alone.

     . . .

     “Yello,” Izzy accepted a call by pressing a button on her speaking device.  She was lying on a cold ground, holding a sniper rifle between her hands.

     ~ _Tell me again, what is your current job?_ ~ It was Rick. He was calling her from his bar in Charleston while she was on a roof of a building in Savannah. Luckily, he didn’t have many customers that night, that’s why he could help her with her mission. Edgar was standing next to him, his eyes looking into the laptop Rick had on the counter. He was holding a glass of whiskey in his hand and checking the digital map of a building.

     It was something after midnight and the party was just about to start – and by party, it meant the mission from Izzy’s good friend – the boss of state Georgia, who will give her great money for this assassination when it’s done. Luckily, there weren’t many lamps on the street, so Izzy was perfectly hidden on the roof. She was wearing a very long black coat that kept her body warm. She wasn’t wearing much underneath it, only sexy lingerie and black stockings with high heels. Her hands were covered in leather gloves.

     “Well,” she adjusted on the ground and looked into the telescope, “since I’m doing this all by myself,” she immediately heard a sound of a clearing throat, so she corrected herself.  “Since I’m doing it without the soldier, my mission is to assassinate one motherfucker who’s pretending to be the biggest boss in Savannah, but isn’t.”

     ~ _Just be careful, Iz_ ,~ Rick sighed and turned to the laptop, clicking on another window. It opened a program with various cameras from a strip club.

     “I always am,” she smiled a little and focused on the things she saw through the telescope. “Now, tell me what’s happening inside of the strip bar,” she said calmly, her eyes founding some guys in black that were supposed to secure the street and the entrance. “It wasn’t that easy to place the small cameras there while wearing almost nothing and be inconspicuous.”

     ~ _Oh please, I know you enjoyed it very much_ ,~ he laughed and his eyes scanned the display of the laptop. ~ _Well, there are very hot young girls there and fuck, I can see one sexy dance happening right now. Well, hello…_ ~

     “Rick?” she stopped looking into the telescope and made a stupid grimace. “When it’s done, you can look at the girls all you want and masturbate. Can we now focus on this? I just want to kill the fucker and go back to my hotel room.”

     ~ _Sorry, baby_. ~

     ~ _Where is this strip club?_ ~ she heard Edgar’s voice. ~ _Well fuck me, those girls are hot!_ ~

     The raven-haired girl had to laugh. “Tell him I can hear him,” she playfully rolled her eyes and went back to her previous action. “And also, tell him there are better strip clubs than this one. I’ve seen the interior. It’s a mess. I’d bet all of my money that some of them are more prostitutes than strippers and that one of them definitely has AIDS. Tell Ed, one day, I’ll take him to New York to the best strip club – let’s say on his eightieth birthday.”

     ~ _There are four men going away from the club. It might be your target_ ,~ Rick said suddenly, making the girl prepare for shooting. She put the right index finger on the trigger and waited. ~ _They should be out in five, four, three, two…_ ~

     When the men came out from the bar, she held the fire. There wasn’t the man she had to murder. It was only a group of young men, something over twenty-years-old that wanted to have a good time with ladies in sexy underwear. “That’s not them. Try to look for the VIP room. There are probably two gorillas standing there, holding guns in their hands.”

     ~ _Got it. They are still keeping an eye on the VIP room while that fat Asian is receiving a pretty lame lap dance,_ ~ the Raven commented. ~ _That is the guy you have to kill? Oh come on!~_

     “Shut the fuck up. You wouldn’t be able to do it no matter what, Rick,” she growled and relaxed, taking her head up from the gun. “We are different in this. I am able to kill anyone anytime. You, on the other hand, can only hurt someone, but not kill. And, if you want to argue with that one time, it was I who killed that fucker in your bar and not you. Yes, you shot him, but I finished him.”

     ~ _No more free vodka for you, young lady!_ ~

     “You wouldn’t dare!” she said it dramatically on purpose. “You can’t take away my baby!”

     ~ _Shut the fuck up woman, the man’s moving_.~

     A smile stayed on her lips. It was funny and she liked this friendly teasing. “I’m ready. Let’s make drama,” she looked into the telescope one more time and waited for the object.  


	8. Chapter eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it took me so long. It's been months, I know, but I had to deal with school, work and so on. Anyway, if you would like to read more stories (Bucky, Tony, Steve, Loki...) follow me on my tumblr: iron-winter.tumblr.com   
> I hope you will enjoy this chapter.

**Chapter eight**

_An hour earlier…_

     The best party remixes of the year were loudly playing from red speakers that were hanging on the walls in the local strip club. They perfectly fit into the interior where everything was black, red and occasionally pink. The furniture was old-fashioned, but it wasn’t that bad. There were worse strip clubs than this; however, there were also better ones with prettier girls, and most of the bars looked more from the twenty-first century. This particular one looked like the eighties bar with the worst German strippers ever.

    Five men of different ages were sitting at the bar and holding drinks in hands while their horny, hungry eyes were looking at two dancing girls. Their minds were filled with dirty images. All they wanted was to take the girls and have fun with them. One of the girls was wearing white lingerie, swaying her hips and brightly smiling. The second was using the dance pole to be sexier, but she was failing horribly. When Izzy’s eyes saw what she was trying to do, she did her best to hold her laugh. “What a stupid hoe,” she mumbled under her nose.

     Izzy needed to become one of them, to fit into the scene. She was only wearing sexy black lingerie with suspenders, stockings and high heels just like the rest of the staff. Her hair was brushed in a very high ponytail and the significant scar she had on her neck was hidden under a lot of make-up. It was a drill to hide it. She was mostly known because of it. The people would talk about a woman with a scar on the right side of her neck that looked like a devil from the hell.

     “Hey, sexy girl, why don’t you come here and give me a lap dance,” a man called after her with a significant southern accent. When the girl turned to him, she was disgusted by his look. He was older, with almost no hair, weird long beard and he didn’t take much care of himself. When he smiled, his teeth were like stars – yellow and far from each other. If she could vomit, she would have already done it. “Come on, darling, what are you waiting for?”

     Before she replied, her slender fingers gently brushed against the edge of the nearest table. Izzy did it on purpose. On the tip of her index finger was an extremely miniature device of a size of a contact lens. It was a camera – a device specially made for this occasion by one of her friends. She had six of them and she needed to place them in strategic places. “Darling, I am way too expensive for you,” she winked at him and continued with the job she was doing. The object she had to eliminate could appear anytime.

     The last two cameras were placed in front of the only VIP room they had and with a little luck, inside of the room. All of the cameras were connected to her laptop that was in Rick’s hands back in Charleston. Luckily, the strip club had a Wi-Fi connection and it was easier for the cameras to connect to it.

     Just when she left the VIP room, a blonde girl stopped her with a weirdly-stupid grin on her face. “You are the new girl, right?” her voice was very high and unpleasant. It made Izzy’s blood boil a little. “For your information, there is this filthy rich guy coming and I want to tell you, he’s mine tonight. Don’t try to take him away.”

     “Have you seen your face in the mirror, darling?” Izzy pointed at her enormously big duck lips covered in pink lipstick. “With that face, I doubt he would want you tonight,” and with a triumphant smile, she waved her fingers. Izzy was never polite to people. She couldn’t even pretend it. But, then again, she was divergent and weird. Her brain was working differently.

     After taking one shot of vodka at the bar, the door to the club opened and four men in black suits stepped in. The target was finally here. The gorillas looked around, scanning if everything was perfectly safe for the man who paid them enormous money. Once they were sure, the boss – a fat Asian man – stepped inside with a shit-eating grin on his face. Izzy’s dark eyes found his and her heart almost skipped a beat. She was way too excited for this assassination. Children were excited about Christmas presents; Izzy was excited to commit a murder. Usually, she would have done it very quickly, without stupid intercessions or plans – only one swift move, pulling a trigger and the man would be dead. She was asked to do it with a sniper gun. One boss was trying to destroy the other one.

     The girls started to throw themselves at his feet, begging him to take one of them into the VIP room. They would do anything for his money.

    It was time to move. Izzy put a fake smile on her lips and seductively walked right to the man. She brushed her ponytail with fingers, twirling the ends on her finger, and took a deep breath of that horrible smell that was swimming in the air. The Asian man caught her eye and immediately pointed at her and walked towards her. “You,” he said confidentially, “I want to take you home when I’m finished here,” and he stopped very close her body.

     “Wow,” she licked her lips, trying to be as seductive as possible. “I am honored, sexy boy,” she gently touched his shoulders and purred into his ear. “I can be a very bad girl for you if your heart wishes to,” she bit his earlobe and it made her stomach roll. “I will wait for you in front of the club in an hour. Now, I have to take care of other customers.” Apparently, the boss was satisfied and as an approval, he smacked her ass with his hand. “Oh, you are rough. I like that.”

     “Wait for me,” he said with a gruff voice. “Don’t you dare leave without my approval.” That was it; that was all she needed to hear.  When the man and his gorillas passed by her, it was time to leave the place and get ready for the action.

. . .

     _~Wait! He stopped at the bar and is talking to someone,~_ Rick announced quickly and loudly before she could do anything stupid. Her grip on the gun loosened and she annoyingly rolled her big dark eyes. The sigh that came out of her throat must’ve been markedly heard on the other side of the line _. ~Man, he’s taking his time. How can he be a boss when he’s this slow?~_

     Izzy’s eyes caught a sight of a black SUV car driving down the street. It wouldn’t be anything unusual if another car – the exact same type – followed the first one. “What the fuck…” she mumbled under her nose, not caring if Rick heard it or not. “Rick, what’s happening inside?” she looked through the telescope. She rather checked the situation. The cars stopped at the roadside.

_~He’s laughing and talking to the bartender which is unusual. I’ve never seen a man like him talking to an average bartender. Damn, this would be a very bad gangster movie,~_ his voice sounded disappointed. A sound of a breaking glass came from Rick’s line. _~Shit, someone is once again destroying my beautiful glasses. Anyway, his men are standing near him, checking the surroundings and just patiently waiting. Why?~_ Before she could reply, he continued. _~Have you heard of puppy?~_

     “Can we talk about current mission and not about him?” she asked grumpily, but answered his question anyway. “No, I haven’t,” she said strictly, not saying more about Bucky. Izzy’s eyes were focused on the cars and the main entrance of the bar. She had a weird feeling – something was wrong, something changed and she didn’t know what it was. An unpleasant shiver went through her spine. “Why do you want to talk about him now? Now, when we have other things to do when I need to shoot one fucker down,” she adjusted on the cold ground and once again looked through the telescope. Maybe it was a stupid idea to only remain in the sexy lingerie and a long black coat.

_~I thought that…~_

     The black-haired girl stopped listening to him the moment three more black SUV cars had arrived at the strip club. Many men in black tactical suits and guns in their hands stepped out of the vehicles, ready to burst into the club. One of them was shouting giving orders and the man had a very strong Russian accent. Izzy’s heartbeat speeded up. It was when she noticed the logo on their shoulders.

     “Shit!”

_~Izzy? What’s going on?~_ Rick had asked right after she started to swear dramatically.

     The woman put the sniper gun down and started to immediately pack her belongings. “Fuck, fucking fuck! They are here, Rick! Shit, shit,” her hands started to disassemble the gun, putting it back into its special cover. “They know I’m here. Fuck! How did they found out? How? Damn. Someone must have seen me.”

_~How is that possible? Should I… ~_

     “No!” she cut him. “Don’t do anything unless I say otherwise. I’ll call you when I’m back in my motel room,” and with that, she ended the call by pressing a miniature button on the device that was in her ear. This situation was totally unexpected. Another rough, unpleasant shiver went through her spine while she was quickly packing up. The girl did her best not to catch their attention. Her moves were adroit. Her fingers were cold, but the sudden activity made her body warm up a little. As fast as she could, she packed everything. Putting the bag over her shoulders, she took one last look down on the road.

     “Check this roof and also the building to your left. She must be here somewhere!” a deep male voice screamed. This sentence only proved they were looking for her. Who told them about her? Who knew she would be there? Closing her eyes and freezing for a moment, the only name popped in her mind – the Winter Soldier.

     Quickly, she made her way to the nearest darkest corner that formed a dark black shadow. When she stepped inside of it, she suddenly vanished without any trace. Her body appeared on another building. She stepped out of a shadow and went to the fire escape. Her pace wasn’t hasty. She remained focused, eyes everywhere. Holding the leather tab of the cover where the sniper gun was hidden, she went down the stairs. Her motorbike was parked nearby.

     “Fucking stupid, annoying Hydra,” she angrily mumbled under her nose. “Ruining my brilliantly planned assassination,” she continued.

     Only a few more steps and she was at the end of the dark alley. A hushed sound came from behind her. It was a sound of a loading gun. “Well, well, well, look what we have here,” a male voice with a German accent said. The raven-haired girl stopped and turned on her heel. She pursed her lips and rolled her dark eyes. Two men were looking at her, holding guns in their hands. “We’ve been looking for you, little one.”

     “Do you realize what you’ve done tonight?” she kinked a brow, relaxing her body a little. “You are ruining my night out.”

    “Sorry, Shadow, but not sorry at all,” he put a gun up and aimed at her. “You are coming with us. Hydra needs you back.”

     Could she be more annoyed? Yes, she could. Dropping the bag on the ground, she vanished like a black smoke in a second. The men didn’t expect that. Just like she disappeared, she appeared behind them, playfully snapping their necks. It was a very easy work. “That should do it,” she brushed her hands against each other.

     “Should it?” a new voice said close to her. It was soft, sounding like a mystical whisper. Izzy couldn’t react the way she wanted. She was too slow and a shooting sound rang in her ears. It was way too unexpected. A sharp pain went through her body, right under her right lung. Her breath got stuck in her throat. It hurt like a bitch. She touched the wound that formed not only in the back but also on her stomach, right under the right of the rib cage. Her fingers were covered in a lot of blood.

     Was this it? Was this the way she would die? No. The wound was painful, but the bullet didn’t get any important organs. Luckily, she knew her body well; she knew how her metabolism worked. With a loud grunt, she turned around, slowly turning into a dark smoke. Her eyes were once again black and she was ready to hurt that fucker who shot her. She looked like a very angry devil with the intention to kill anyone who would come across her way.

     Hydra was full of surprises and the person who wanted to take her down was one of them. He was a tall masculine man wearing black tactical suit typical for any Hydra assassin. At first, she thought it was Barnes trying to take her down, but when she looked closer, she noticed the short light-brown hair and no metal arm. This one must have been Hydra’s new creation. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” she had to say it out loud, still holding the wound under the right rib cage.

     Ready to take him down, she heard another loud gunshot. Only for a second, she thought he got her, but a painful growl came from the “assassin” and not from her. Someone shot him. Then there was second and third shot, followed by loading a gun. She knew the sound. It wasn’t a small gun, but something bigger. Who was trying to help her?

     The man, the unsuccessful version of the Winter Soldier, fell on the ground like a ragdoll covered in dark blood. Izzy winced from pain and took a deep breath. There were the one and only person who could have helped her. “How did you find me, Barnes?” she asked confidently while trying to cover the pain.

      The brunet appeared from behind a corner with an M4 carbine in his hands. This was the typical weapon he used to have with him on missions when they both worked for Hydra. Bucky was wearing black jeans with a dark brown jacket and he had a cap on his head. “You told me you are going here, remember?” he kinked a brow and came closer to the woman.

     “Why are you here?” she leaned against a cold wall of a building, hissing in pain. A tear of sweat appeared on her forehead.

     His blue eyes found blood on her hands. Bucky huffed and looked around, scanning the surroundings. “We need to get out and take care of your wound.”

     “Look at you, how caring and worried you are,” she gave him a sarcastic smile. “Where should we write it?” The woman tried to laugh but the pain stopped her. “Shit.”

     He rolled his eyes and handed her the gun. Without asking, his flesh hand sneaked under her knees and the metal one under her shoulders. He picked her up bridal style. “Save it for later, woman. We have to leave before someone will come. Where’s your motorbike?”

     “Fuck it. It is three blocks away. I’ll get us to my motel room with my ability,” she said it with gritted teeth and did her best to held another painful growl. “Shit, it hurts like a bitch.”

     “You are weak. You won’t…”

    “Shut the fuck up,” she was annoyed by his words. “Just hold me tight.”

     He saw the darkness surrounding him. Even when she was hurt, she was fast. The black smoke swallowed them and the only thing he could feel was her body in her arms, holding it tightly. He didn’t understand her ability, but he was indeed fascinated. After a very short moment, the two of them appeared in a very small room with a bed, big round table, and almost no furniture – typical cheap motel. The room had a musty smell and the door to the bathroom was damaged. Bucky needed one more second to process what happened to him. She was able to take them from one place to another.

     Izzy took a deep painful breath. “Put me on the table and listen to me what I say,” she demanded. Barnes did as she told him, carefully putting her on the table. Her hands quickly unfastened the black coat and exposed her almost naked body to him. His eyes widened and darkened at the same time. She was there only in sexy black lingerie with high heels and stockings. He quickly came to his mind when he saw the wound on her right side. “Ah,” another groan escaped her lips. “There is a black bag under the bed,” she started to talk and he quickly reacted, running to the bed. “You will find there weapons and clothing, but on its side, there is a small black cover.”

     “I got it,” he said after ten seconds.

     “Open it, there are injections. Take one and give me it.”

     “What’s in there?” he asked.

    She took a deep breath and answered his question. “It is like a sedative, but a stronger dose than usual. It will help me calm down. My body works differently and so does yours. Don’t forget, we were in Hydra.”

     Bucky took one injection and injected her with it just like she wanted. “Okay, it’s done. Do you have any bondage here? I need to take care of the wound.”

     The raven-haired girl took a deep relaxing breath. “Look into the bathroom. I hid there some. Oh, and in the bag, you can find there everything you need.”

     It was strange, seeing Izzy lying on the table covered in blood. Bucky would have never thought that he’ll be the one saving her life. He tried to be gentle. They didn’t have any anesthesia or alcohol. Luckily, she packed forceps, needles, and suture for sewing the wound. It took him some time until he finally got a piece of the bullet out of her body.

     “Why did you come back?” she broke the silence between them. Her head was turned to him, scanning his face. She could see how focused he was.

    He was quiet for a second. “I thought about it, about what you said to me,” he started slowly, thinking about each word. “I replayed each moment together and every conversation we had. It makes sense now. And,” he hesitated but continued, “I had a dream or more like a memory how we worked together back in Hydra’s base. We had to assassinate someone in Warsaw.”

     She smirked a little. “A dream told you that we worked together,” she mocked him with a raspy voice. “You remember correctly. Few days before the mission, I killed a very young girl. You were supposed to train a group of newcomers but I took them from you.”

     “How can you remember the past?” he started to sew her up when the wound was finally clean. “I don’t remember who I was or what I did. I had to read about myself in a museum.”

     Izzy’s left fingers went to her hair. The ponytail she had was a mess. She took a deep breath, her chest visibly heaved. “I have abilities. My brain works differently, so whenever they tried to wipe me out, they weren’t successful. Well, they did, but only for a moment. I would always remember – well, most of the things.”

     “And what do you remember?”

     “Aren’t you curious a little?” she raised her brow and once again smirked. “Tell me, why are you here. What do you want? What are you expecting now?”

     He finished the sewing and cleaned the skin around it. “To be honest, I don’t know. I have no idea what to do now. Everyone is looking for me – Hydra, the police, government. I am a killer and they want me. I don’t know if I can start a new life. The only thing I can do is to hide.”

     The girl tried to sit up, but it was a difficult task. Luckily, Bucky helped her. “But you must know why you came here.”

     He nodded. “I do. You are the only person connected with my past and only you can give me the answers I need. I can help you if you can help me. I just need a place to stay and figure everything out. Will you,” he had to stop because he started to chuckle.

     “My couch is free you know,” she said the thing he wanted to ask about. Bucky looked into her face and an honest smile appeared on his lips. “There are so many things I have to tell you. Some of the moments are nice, but there are moments you won’t like,” her shoulders fall back. She is becoming dizzier and more tired. Izzy closed her dark eyes and breathed the air through her nose.

     “You ok?” he made a move toward her and caught her before she could fall down from the table. “Oh, obviously not,” he answered his question.

     “Put me to bed,” she mumbled, “I’ll be fine in the morning. The sedatives are working.”

     Carefully he moved her from the table to the bed, helping her lie down. She was still in her lingerie but he didn’t care anymore. He got used to the sight in front of him. Bucky had almost forgotten how beautiful she was – intimidating, but beautiful.

     “I’m going to find your bike,” he pushed himself from the bed and stuck his hand into the pockets of the jeans.

     “If you steal it, I will cut you,” she threatened him. “I’m going to be fine in the morning. I just need a good sleep and I’ll be fine. Oh, fucking Hydra,” her voice was muffled by a pillow. Bucky was about to leave when he heard her one more time. “Thanks for helping me, Barnes.”

     …

     When early morning came, Izzy felt better than ever – like nothing happened to her before. She took a deep breath and sat up. She was still wearing the lingerie, but the heels weren’t on her feet anymore. She looked around. No one was in the room, only her. Where did Bucky go? Did he change his mind? That wouldn’t be new.

    Izzy looked at the wound. It was healing pretty fast, but she could feel the pain occasionally. Carefully, she bent over the bed and pulled out a bag where her clothes were. She took out typical black tight jeans, loose shirt and put it all on. After she fixed her hair and brushed it in a high ponytail, she packed all her belongings. The door to the room opened and she quickly turned around, gun already in a hand.

     “Put it down, it’s only me,” Bucky’s eyes widened for a moment, but he relaxed and closed the door.

     “Where have you been?” she turned around and hid the gun behind her back. Izzy zipped the bag.

     “I went for your bike,” he answered and took the keys out of the pocket of his jacket. “It’s parked outside of the motel, so if you are ready, we can leave.” Bucky approached her and took the bag she wanted to put over her shoulders.  The woman wanted to say something to him, but he didn’t give her the opportunity. “Stop, you are injured.”

     “So what? Just because I have a little wound it doesn’t mean that I am useless and can’t take my stuff. And, we need to get back to the same place you found me. I forgot to take my gun with us. It cost a fortune, plus it’s a unique piece.”

    He draped the bag over his shoulder. “I was there and didn’t find it. Hydra must have taken it when we disappeared,” Bucky explained and went to the door. “Anything else you need to take?”

     She was surprised. “Look at you! Are you making amends, Barnes?” she had to laugh. “You are becoming my personal bitch, are you aware of that?” While talking to him, she quickly checked the room and bathroom, making sure she had everything packed.

     The brunet only rolled his eyes and opened the front door. “Just come on already. We don’t want Hydra to find us here, no?” he fixed the cap on his head and looked outside. No one was around; the street was calm because the motel was on the edge of the city.

     Izzy stepped out of the room, holding the black coat in her hand, with a grimace on her face. Her eyes never left his blue one. “My personal guardian,” she was making fun of the sudden situation. “Aren’t ya cute?” She turned to the parking lot where her motorbike should have been parked. She opened her mouth, closed it and checked the machine. “Where is my bike?” she asked.

     He gave her a baffled look. “What do you mean where’s your bike? It’s right in front of you.”

     She did her best to hide her laugh. “Dude, that’s not my bike,” she said. “My bike is nothing like this,” she kinked a brow and crossed arms under her breasts. “If this was my bike, it would have a tiny scratch on its side, but it isn’t there. You stole someone’s bike.” After that, she started to laugh.

    “No fucking way,” his flesh fingers landed on the top of his head. “But the key worked on it!”

     “Come on, Barnes, let’s get my bike and go back to Charleston,” she kept a grin on her face and came even closer to him. Because no one was around, she used her powers to teleport them to her actual motorbike.  


	9. Chapter nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After several long, long, loooong months, I finally had the time to write chapter nine. I'm so sorry, guys. I'm going to make it up to you - I hope. I have a lot of things to do, plus the summer semester is ending and there are exams coming and I need to study. Damn.   
> If you have any questions, don't hesitate to write me on: iron-winter.tumblr.com.   
> Enjoy the chapter, sorry for mistakes and grammar. I'm doing my best.

**Chapter nine**

                Edgar was watching Rick’s moves. He was walking from one place to another, his hands tightly holding a mobile phone as he was expecting a phone call. He was like a wild lion in a cage, breathing heavily and nervously. The man with the dark skin was holding a glass of whiskey near his lips, not daring to take a sip. No one was in the bar except the two of them.

                The older man with stylish gray hair looked at the man with the drink. “She is not calling, Ed,” he said grumpily. “It’s been eight fucking hours. What if something happened to her?” he continued and put the phone on the bar with a loud thud, almost breaking the screen. “She was there alone, with no help.”

                “Would you relax, my man,” Edgar said calmly. “This is Izzy we are talking about. You know the girl, she is a pro. She’s fine, just relax.”

                “This time, it wasn’t that easy!” Rick took a deep breath and grabbed the first bottle his eyes landed on. It was second-rate vodka probably from Russia. He took a massive sip and put the bottle back on the bar with a loud thud. “If the phone doesn’t ring in one hour, I’m going to Savannah and find out what happened to her.” His hands leaned against the counter and the man closed his eyes. Izzy was his closest friend – like a family, even when they slept together. She came to his life unexpectedly several years ago and he didn’t regret a minute of their friendship and occasional one-night stands.

                Edgar’s hand dug into a pocket of his brown leather jacket and took out a joint. “I believe this could make you calmer,” he smiled and smelled the scent of it. “Oh lord, this is better than alcohol and food. I would say sex, but I’m having a meeting with this beautiful chocolate woman with big butt and long curly hair.”

                The Raven rolled his eyes and focused them on the joint. “Give me that,” his arm stretched and he took it from his friend. “You are such a tease, Ed.” Rick grabbed a lighter from a drawer. “Let’s light this bad boy and chill. That girl is going to be the death of me.”

                The bar was closed and that’s why they could do whatever they want to. Smoking marihuana was illegal but they didn’t care. This didn’t belong to the government or the police. It was pretty much a private property. Before Rick could light it up, they both heard a sound of the door opening and steps coming down the stairs. His hand immediately went to a gun he had hidden under the shirt, ready to shoot anyone down.

                “Someone is smoking Mary Jane and won’t wait for me,” Izzy’s smile spread over her lips when she entered the room. “You are bad boys. Do you call yourselves friends?”

                “Iz?!” Rick’s eyes widened and he almost dropped the joint on the floor. He was relieved the woman was alive but he did notice the way she flinched when she made a move. His mouth opened, ready to ask what happened when an old-new guest had appeared behind her. It made him remain speechless.

                “You remember our old friend?” Izzy pointed at the brunet with the metal arm and winked at both men. “Guess who saved my ass yesterday.” The raven-haired girl took the joint from Rick’s hand, the lighter followed and she lit it up. After the first draw, a relaxed smirk appeared on her face.

                “Hey, hey!” Rick took the joint from her fingers, growling. “You only spoke pot when you are injured. What happened, Izzy? And don’t you dare lie to me,” he narrowed his eyes and took a draw from the joint. Afterward, Rick passed it to Edgar.

                “She got shot under her right rib cage,” Barnes stepped in and crossed arms under his pectorals. “It surprisingly didn’t hit the liver or any other important organ. Consider yourself lucky, Iz.”

                “Oh, come on Barnes,” she rolled her dark eyes, whining like a child. “You had to tell him that? Are you my parent or something? I’m fine. Nothing serious, still in pain but tomorrow, I’ll be fine,” she made them believe her. Izzy took the joint from Edgar, ready to smoke again. She sat down on the nearest chair and put her legs up on the table. “Ah, much better.”

                Bucky looked at Rick but kept the distance between them. He wasn’t sure what the man would do to him. The Raven remained silent for another five seconds before he shrugged and rolled his eyes. “Dammit woman, I’m glad you are okay.” Afterward, his eyes found the man with the metal arm standing near to Izzy. “Welcome back, puppy. You now obviously know some answers,” he winked at him and slowly went behind the bar. “It was about damn time you told him, Iz.”

                “Yeah, yeah, he knows something.”

                “So, even Rick knew,” the brunet said it with a lower voice and sat down next to Izzy. She was contentedly smoking the joint; looking more like a peaceful girl and not a deadly assassin. “Look, I came back because she really wanted to help me and I need a place to say. We have the same past, we are very alike. I hope I’ll get more information soon.”

                The man laughed. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. You are back,” he went to a refrigerator and took a bottle of beer. “Here,” he threw the bottle at Bucky and he caught it. “This one is on me.”

                “Thanks.”

                “What about me?” Edgar huffed and pointed at the joint. “It’s my marihuana so I believe it belongs mostly to me,” he stood up and slowly approached the woman. She was already in another realm. Her eyes were a bit darker but she looked even more relaxed than a minute ago. “Honey, you look adorable, you know that?”

                “I know,” she nodded and lazily turned to Barnes. “I think it’s time to go home, soldier. I need to have my wound checked and I need you in my bed... Oh, did I just say that?” she laughed and corrected herself. “I meant my bed. Hey, I wouldn’t be mad if you join me. It’s only a matter of time when…”

                The black-haired girl stopped talking when a tall man with two gorillas came into the bar, all dressed up in black. The one in the middle had a golden chain on his neck and black designer glasses. The owner of the bar and his friends looked at the people who came in. “We are closed,” Rick said angrily and crossed arms over his chest.   

                “Dude, this is like a fucking movie,” said Izzy, not whispering. “A dangerous trio has come to our bar,” she spread her arms and mockingly smiled at the men. “It even starts like a terrible joke. How sweet…” Bucky tried to hold his laughter. He never saw her like this and it was hilarious. She was high but he knew it didn’t have the same effect on her like on normal people.

                “We are looking for someone,” the leader said, his eyes landed on the black-haired girl. “Her,” his finger pointed at Izzy.

                “That’s not my name,” she said it calmly and yawned.

                “What do you want?” Rick asked. “This is a private meeting. You are not allowed here.”

                The man’s gorillas took out their guns and pointed them at Rick and Bucky. “We are here to talk with the girl,” one of them said. “Our boss wants to hire her to do a dirty work for him,” he continued.

                The dark-eyed woman turned to them and licked her lower lip. “First thing first, careful with the guns because you can only hurt yourselves and not us,” she winked at them. “Secondly, if he wants something from me, he should get his fucking fat ass here and talk to me personally.” The marihuana effects were quickly fading away. “Now leave before I break your necks.”

                “Ah, feisty,” he took a step closer to her, not scared at all. “We are not afraid of you. You are only a woman - a weak woman who is trying to be tougher than any other man. Maybe you are a badass and you can make people around you scream, unfortunately, we don’t belong to this group.”

                She stood up and playfully rolled her eyes. A grin remained on her lips as she slowly approached them. “Do you think I’m scared of you?” she narrowed her eyes, occasionally blinking. “I’m not. No one here is afraid of three pussies like you. You are talking to the demon itself. So, here are the rules, gentlemen,” she stopped in front of one who was pointing the gun at her forehead now. “You are going to tell your fucking boss that I’ll only talk to him face to face.” In a second she was holding his gun and with two simple moves, it was dismantled. The magazine fell down on the floor with a ringing sound of the bullets. “Don’t play with me.”

                “We were told you like to play,” said the leader. “And we know…”

                Izzy grabbed the man by his throat and pushed his body up in the air. The other two pointed the guns at her. They were shocked by her strength. She rolled her dark eyes annoyingly and licked her lower lip. “I don’t negotiate,” she sighed. “I don’t need your money; I don’t need anything from you. He needs my help, am I right?” her voice was high but soft.

                “Let him go!”

                “Or what, you’ll shoot me? Oh, please, darling,” she winked at the man. “That would be the last thing you would do in your fucking pathetic life,” and with that she let the man fall on his ass. “If your boss wants something from me, he should talk about it directly with me.”

                “He would never come to this dump,” one of them growled and Rick’s knuckles cracked. He loved his bar. It was like his wife to him.

                “Give me a number and I’ll write him the location of the meeting,” she stepped away from the man and went closer to Bucky with the mad grin on her face. “I’m the one who sets the rules, not him. I need you to remember that and tell it to your boss.”

                There was a short silence. The three men were looking at each other, trying to discuss the pros and cons of the situation. They had some signs that helped them communicate. After a while, the leader took a card from his jacket and threw it on the table. “Just so you know my boss doesn’t negotiate too. If you don’t let him know, he’ll come here and blow this place up.”

                “Careful,” Rick warned him. “Don’t play with the devil.”

                The girl had enough and grabbed a knife from a leather case she had on her jeans. With a swift move, she threw it right at the closest man. It stabbed him in the right shoulder. He fell on the floor, whining and screaming from pain. “This is what you get when you threaten me or my friends!”

                “You fucking little bitch!” the man cried. She came to him only to take the knife from his shoulder. “I’m going to kill you for that one day!” Izzy wasn’t listening to him.

                 The other two took the injured colleague and hey left the bar in absolute silence.

                …

                “Are you going to meet with that boss finally?”

                Bucky was sitting on Izzy’s couch, eyes focused on the television and enjoying a show about some dull rich housewives. It’s been over a week since the two men came into Rick’s bar, looking for the girl and she still hadn’t set a meeting with the boss.

                The relationship Bucky and Izzy had was better and even living in the same flat became easier. He was still using her couch as a bed while she remained in her room. Bucky never saw the room. They did training together and worked on his anger. She tried her best not to turn on the Winter Soldier mode, unluckily, it was unpredictable when he would lose himself and became the Soldier. Also, Bucky had trouble with his dreams. He would wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes screaming and all sweaty. When Izzy asked him about the dreams, he refused to tell her, saying it was only a nightmare.

                “Are you going to tell me more about your fucking dreams?” she kinked a brow. The girl was sitting on a wooden chair in the kitchen section, sharpening all the knives she owned. Her long black hair was brushed on a messy bun and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. “Some of them were from your past, am I right? You told me some of them before, why won’t you tell me now?”

                He rolled his eyes. “You would think I’m insane,” he huffed. “Plus, I’m trying to figure out…”

                “I already think that, Barnes. Stop being a baby and tell me about it,” she turned to on a chair to look at him, holding a knife in a hand. “Start talking!” and with that she threw the knife at him, not caring if she would hit him or not. Luckily, his reflexes were beyond good and he caught it.

                “What the fuck?” he growled and looked at the knife. “Are you serious, throwing this at me?” he stood up from the couch, eyes filled with anger. “It’s funny; you want to know about my stupid dreams that probably don’t mean anything while you won’t tell me anything from our past together. I’ve been here for several days now, occasionally helping you when you needed and what do I get? A knife right into my head,” he gritted his teeth.

                “Oh please, you caught the damn knife,” she rolled her eyes and crossed arms over her breasts. “Stop whining and sit down, will you?” Izzy was pointing at the nearest chair. “All you had to do was ask or start to talk about it.”

                “Do you think I’m going to believe that?” and now he was annoyed.

                “No?” that sounded like a question. “Okay, fine, I’m sorry for throwing that stupid knife at you,” she waved her hands and grabbed another knife for sharpening. “If you want to talk,” she made a disgusted grimace, “we can talk.”

                There was a silence between them. The brunet was thinking whether he should start the conversation he longed for or remain quiet and mind his own business. He was mad at her roommate and it wouldn’t be smart if they start to discuss it now. When he opened his mouth to say something, he was interrupted by Izzy’s phone that started to ring next to her hand. They looked into each other’s eyes. “Go on, take it,” he huffed, leaning against the backrest.

                The black-haired girl reached for the device and accepted the call. While looking into the man’s baby blue eyes, she greeted her friend on the other line. “What’s up, Rick?”

                _~We have a situation, Iz. Tell Barnes I’m coming and I’m taking JT with me. I need you to turn off all your devices and wait for our arrival. We’ll be there in ten minutes.~_

                Her only response was ending the call and immediately turning off her mobile. “Go get dress and quickly turn off your mobile. I’m going to disconnect the Internet,” she informed him, quickly walking to a router, turning it off and disconnecting the Internet.”

                “What’s going on?” he asked while doing what she told him.

                When Izzy looked at him for a moment, she found him looking at her with a little worry. It reminded her the times back in Hydra base. She remembered that look and it made her shiver. “Rick is coming here with JT – our very own professional hacker and he knows how to work with technology. Something is going on. Don’t turn on anything. We’ll be using Dark Web and blah, blah and it’s better to be off,” Izzy warned him, waving hands in the air like crazy. “They’ll be here any minute now,” and she ran into her room, quickly putting on something more appropriate – not that she would actually care.

                While in the room, she thought about the conversation they had. It was cruel what she had done to him. He only wants to know about his past, what he did back in Hydra. Was he ready to hear about it, about all the things he had done and happened? What she ready to tell him the whole truth - who she actually was?

                When she got out from her room, dressed in black tight jeans and a baggy t-shirt with a logo of a band, she found Bucky standing in the middle of the room, shirtless. His eyes were dropped on the piece of material, probably thinking about something. She stopped breathing for a moment, enjoying the sight she was seeing. Boy did he look good without the piece of clothing. If only he would be shirtless the whole time. “Barnes?” she said his name surprisingly softly, making him turn to her while putting on the shirt, hiding his metal arm. “I’m taking you out tonight if nothing fucks up,” she winked at him.

                “You-me-out, what?” he was shocked. “Like dinner or something?” his eyes were widened. It’s been centuries since he was out with someone.

                The girl noticed how flustered he became. It only made her giggle and playfully roll her dark eyes. “Yes, Buck. I’m taking you out for a dinner. I really,” she dryly gulped, moving her eyes away from him, “I do owe you some answers and explanation. You helped me when I fucked things up. Consider it as a thank you.”

                There was a knock on the front door followed by a familiar voice that interrupted their moment. Izzy quickly opened them and Rick went inside like a torpedo, followed by a very young skinny boy with dreadlocks, who was holding a tablet in his hands. He had a bag on his shoulders that was probably filled with other various devices. “Sorry for interrupting your free time birds, unfortunately, we have some work to do,” said the Raven and went straight to the kitchen table. Izzy quickly locked the door behind them and went closer to the brunet who lived with her.

                “JT, this is Barnes,” Izzy pointed at the man with the metal arm. “He’s now part of us and he’s working with me. I think you’ve already heard about the Winter Soldier – this is him.”

                The skinny boy looked at the brunet and grinned. “Oh, y-yeah, saw the e-exhibition, nice to meet y-you,” he said it quickly and shook hands with Bucky. Barnes noticed the boys reddish, stoned eyes. He was sure the boy smoked weed or took another drug that brought him into this state. “I’m a big fan. A-a- big fan,” he laughed and moved to Rick who was already sitting on a table, looking at Izzy’s knives.

                Izzy noticed the way Bucky was looking at JT. “Relax,” she whispered, “he only enjoys weed and I’ve been working with him for over two years,” she nudged his shoulder and went closer to the other men who prepared two laptops and the tablet. “So, what’s the matter, boys? It sounded urgent.”

                “It is,” Rick growled and turned to the fridge. “Do you have anything to eat? I’m starving.”

                Izzy gave him a deathly glare. “Who the fuck do you think I am, a woman who can cook and your personal servant? Go find something in the fridge or in the cupboards,” she frowned and stood behind JT who was looking into the laptops. “Rather tell me what’s going on.”

                “Hydra,” said JT calmly, his fingers quickly typing. “They killed your client,” he sighed and showed her footage of privet security cameras that belonged to her very good client. They called him the Big Daddy and he was well known for his obese figure, love of cheap hookers and dirty money. “You remember him, right?”

                When Bucky heard Hydra, he came closer to Izzy, his chest almost touching her shoulders and looked at the screen. One of the cameras that was hidden in the living room showed what exactly happened there. The boss, Big Daddy, was with two of his bodyguards when ten Hydra men came to his living room, pointing guns at them. They wanted to know about the Shadow and they also questioned them about the Soldier. After a while, an open fire started and Hydra killed the boss with his gorillas. “Fuck,” the girl mumbled. “Did they find something?”

                “Well,” JT bit his lower lip and quickly looked for some information. “To be honest, if you had any paper contract together, they probably found that. So far, I don’t see anything that is connected to you – no camera records, no photos or online documents.”

                She sighed and put both hands on her hips. “I never make a paper contract and I don’t visit their homes,” she was thinking out loud. “Shit-fuck, so it has started.”

                “What has?” Bucky asked.

                “The Hunt,” she replied. “They were trying to find me ever since I escaped them,” Izzy turned to him, only to be found with him standing very close to her. She inhaled his scent and dryly gulped. “I don’t know if you remember, back in 2009 they sent you to get me back. It was three months after I ran away.”

                He was looking into the dark eyes, trying to remember. “Sorry, not ringing any bells now,” he huffed, disappointed.

                “I think they know you live in this city, Iz,” said Rick, holding a bag of cookies in his hand, eating them. Bucky turned to him and Izzy peeped out from behind him. “They found you in my bar; they even knew when you were in Savannah. Somebody talked.”

                 “I killed them!” she whined. “Every one of Hydra men that came close to me, I killed them – except the one in Savannah.”

                “Yes, I was there when you killed those in my bar, I remember,” he nodded. “This is Hydra we are talking about. No matter what you do, they will always find you. Cut off one limb and two more shall take its place,” he quoted. “Barnes ran away from them and they want him back too. It’s not only about you, Iz.”

                “I believe Rick knows a lot about Hydra,” Bucky turned back to Izzy and looked into her face. “Was he one of them or you told him everything? You do owe me a lot of explanation. How does he know what they say and about me?” He did his best to remain calm, not starting another fight.

                “You still haven’t told him?” it was Rick who asked it, narrowing his eyes. “I thought you…”

                “Can you both stop?” she whined. “No, I haven’t told him…”

                “Why?”

                When she looked back at Bucky, she bit her lower lip and closed her eyes. For a second, she saw a moment from their past but it was a long time ago. It was a memory playing in front of her eyes. The way he was looking at her, touching her and whispering things in her ear, giving her promises – it made her scared. “I never had the right opportunity,” she answered it confidently, not giving them any sign of weakness. “Can we focus on the current problem?”

                Rick raised his hand in the air, giving up on this conversation. Bucky, on the other hand, locked eyes with her, trying to find some answers in them. “What are you hiding from me?” he whispered. If he could, he would take a step closer to her body only to have a better look at her. “What are you not telling me?”

                “I’m not hiding anything,” that sounded convincing. “I’m going to tell you everything you want tonight, right after this is finished.”

                “Iz?” JT said her name slowly. “Do you remember what you asked me to do like a half a year ago?”

                The woman unwillingly turned to him and looked at his tiny figure sitting behind the table. “Yes? Did you…” and without finishing, she jumped to him, eyes fixing on the screens. The dark eyes went wide as soon as she found what was on the laptops and she stopped breathing. “You found them,” it was barely a whisper.  

                “I did,” he was proud of himself, smiling like a child. “There’s an address,” he pointed at the right screen. “Write it down and when you are ready, you can go there.”

                “Yeah, I’ll write it down,” she cleared her throat and smiled like never before. She quickly left the men alone, only to take a wallet from her room. Izzy took almost everything she had in there and gave it to JT. “Just as I promised,” she handed him the money. There were over thousand dollars. “These are for the work you’ve done. You can get more if you keep working for me and keep your mouth shut. As a bonus, I can give you the best weed – expensive and not cheap at all.”

                He was more than happy to take the money. “Always a pleasure and, of course, you can count on me. I’m all yours, Izzy. You know I’ll do anything for a pretty, dangerous girl like you and for the weed.”

                “What’s happening?” Rick came closer to them, only to be pushed away. Izzy didn’t want him to see the screen with the information.

                “That’s none of your business,” she replied strictly, writing down all the information she needed.

                “Apparently, you don’t know everything,” Bucky said it mockingly and sat on the couch, not caring what was happening at the kitchen table. He also got what he wanted – the girl would tell him everything that he wanted and more.

                “Hey Barnes,” JT called his name, not caring if he sounded rude. “Do you still have the famous suit you used to wear?” he looked at the brunet from the laptops. “You know the one they made you wear while you worked for Hydra?”

                “No.”

                “What?” Izzy also looked at him, shocked. “How come? What happened to it?”

                “I got rid of it. It was a reminder of who I was and what I had done,” he mumbled. “I put it under the ground so no one ever would find it.”

                There was a silence between the four people. Bucky put his legs up on the couch and closed his eyes. Rick was leaning against the kitchen counter, finishing the cookies. Izzy looked at JT and took a deep breath. “Okay, here is the thing – I need you to spy on Hydra and give us information about their location. We need to be ready if they decide to come here and take us back. Every detail is needed, okay?”

                “What about your job, Iz? Isn’t it too dangerous for you when the Hunt has already started?” the Raven sat down on the chair opposite to JT and his eyes looked into the girl’s. “You have to be careful. What if someone’s mouth start to talk and they’ll find you?”

                “What should I do? Run away? I can’t just run, Rick. The Hunt has started, yes, but tell me this, are there any rules that forbid me to hunt _them_ down?” she knocked on her forehead with a finger. It made Bucky turn to her and listen carefully. “How can they take me/us back if I kill them first?” she winked at him.

                “Izzy, no!” he didn’t approve it. “It’s still too dangerous.”

                “Too late, sweetheart,” she winked at him. “Now, if you excuse me, I have to make several phone calls and secure some new guns for us.”


End file.
